ST Joseph’s House at MacKillop College is one of the most cost-effective boarding facilities in the state and should be saved, says a former MacKillop P and F committee president, Brett Kenworthy.
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His comments come after the announcement last week that the boarding house will be closed.
Boarders at MacKillop College faced the same uncertain future eight years ago when it looked like St Joseph’s House would close its doors. Enrolments were down then and the Sisters of St Joseph were no longer able to run the facility.
But the community rallied, and with the help of both the school’s P and F organisations (two separate groups representing day students and boarders), a business plan and marketing strategy was put in place and boarding numbers grew to 70.
The Bishop of Bathurst announced last week that the boarding house is no longer taking new enrolments. With just 30 boarders, he said, it is no longer financially viable.
The news has shocked the community, and sparked outrage among parents who only found out after receiving calls from their distraught children.
Brett Kenworthy, who was the president of the P and F (day students) eight years ago, said what struck him about last week’s announcement was its similarity to his experience.
“In essence, the announcement was sudden and immediate,” he said.
At the time, Mr Kenworthy said he spoke to then principal Steve Todd and asked why the P and F wasn’t consulted.
“Bridgette Chudleigh [president of the P and F boarders group] had a meeting with him and was told there weren’t enough boarders,” he said.
Digging into the situation, Mr Kenworthy said the P and F formed the opinion the boarding house hadn’t been promoted well.
“The history of the college isn’t really the same as All Saints’ or Scots. It is meant to be a facility that gives young Catholic women from western NSW the option of going to a Catholic school,” he said.
“But we found there wasn’t a push to promote it, and it came down to the bottom line.
“I understand it’s a similar situation this time and I’ve got to wonder if the promotion was sufficient to continue enrolments.
“Last time we were told we needed to get it to 60 boarders to make it viable, and we did it within the year. “
Mr Kenworthy said they did simple things to build the boarding house’s profile.
“We promoted it and the diocese took over the boarding house from the nuns and from memory we got the boarding number up to 70,” he said.
He hopes there are people willing to think outside the square again.
“MacKillop College is one of the most cost-effective boarding facilities for Catholic girls in the state,” he said.
“Surely there are options.”
