I am a man of tradition. I believe very strongly in God, my family, my country and Marian Central Catholic High School. For more than 4 decades MC has been an essential part of my life and that of my family. My late wife was a graduate and our 3 sons graduated from MC. While I did not graduate from MC, I fell in love with the spiritual, family like atmosphere that welcomed the Smiths.
We saw our sons grow as Christians, as excellent students and good leaders. They experienced fine academics, exemplary leadership and strong Catholic values. Over the years my wife and I immersed ourselves in volunteer activities at MC and become avid fundraisers. We saw the fantastic benefits of MC and we shared our time, talents and treasure to make it a reality for many students who might not have had the financial means to attend. We both were named the very first “Honorary Alumni” ever inducted at MC.
Unfortunately, over the last few years I have witnessed an erosion of the foundation of this great institution. The leadership has changed dramatically as there have been 5 superintendents in 5 years! This type of instability is dangerous and I am hearing it is affecting morale inside the building. I read in the newspaper a couple of years ago that a recently hired superintendent was fired after an investigation turned up nothing (read more). How can this be? How is it that a school with such fine standards has fallen to this level?
Again, this past summer I learned of another superintendent dismissal after many attempts by the Council to speak with the Rockford Diocese were ignored (read more). This move was very puzzling to me as I was consulted several times over the last couple of years by members of the Leadership Advisory Committee. I was aware of the detailed hiring process that went in to selecting the best qualified candidate. After his first year on the job, the feedback I was hearing was that he was doing a great job.
It comes down to this however, what is the common denominator in these moves? The Rockford Diocesan Leadership is the common thread. I am beginning to question why these types of personnel moves are becoming routine? We need to understand why the Rockford Diocese continues to make decisions that weaken Marian. Are they listening to the Marian community? Why have they ignored the questions we are asking? We need to get answers, I would like some now.
You have to understand that my three boys, when they graduated from MC, were the staunchest of all supporters of the school. They participated in fund raising activities and numerous other events. But that has all changed thanks to the Rockford Diocese. You have no idea how painfull it is to me that NONE of my three boys will be sending my seven grandchildren to MC. This is due to the last few years of chaos that has ensued at MC. Not only are they missing out on a great education, they are missing out on the most important thing all of us…our relationship to God in our education. THIS HURTS ME MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW. I am sure it hurts God too. We seem to forget God and worry about petty Catholic Diocese politics, don’t we?
