Reading comments on line I find it very worrisome concerning the future of St. Mary’s High School.
* People are in the dark, uninformed. Total lack of transparency.
* There is lack of trust at all levels, with the Pastor, the Board, the Bishop, and the Diocese. Most people appear to not even know who is on the Board!
* Secret meetings are held with no communication back to the people.
* No one seems to really be in charge, on the contrary, they refer to one another for answers to questions. A complete “runaround”.
* Destructive rumors are swirling due to all of the above. Examples: (1) There may be a merger with Pope Francis. (“Merger” is a code word for closing St. Mary’s.) (2) Undergrad students are not buying their senior rings since they feel there will be no school in the future. (3) Prospective students at Pope Francis were told that St. Mary’s is closing. Other prospective students were told this, as well. There are many more destructive rumors floating around in the absence of leadership and good communication.
During this critical one year period of time to determine the future of St. Mary’s High, all of the above is totally unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue. The future of St. Mary’s High is at stake!
I would like to suggest to the faithful of St. Mary’s an important “cardinal rule” of leadership that works during crisis periods where there is a vacuum of leadership. IN THE ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP…ASSUME LEADERSHIP. Throughout my life I have have seen and been personally involved with this approach…and it works where a competent group assumes leadership! Following are the suggested steps:
1) Form a committee of 5 to 6 respected and competent people. The committee chairperson should be a well known and respected leader, strongly dedicated to Saving St. Mary’s High. On the committee it is recommend that one person have a marketing background, and one have a financial background. Another may be a political representative in Westfield dedicated to keeping St. Mary’s open.
2) Name the committee with a descriptive title such as Committee to Save St. Mary’s (CSSM).
3) Have a simple, crystal clear Mission / Objective statement such as: CSSM is dedicated to keeping St. Mary’s High School open now, and for many, many successful years in the future. Keep it simple, straight forward and well understood as to the purpose of CSSM.
4) CSSM should meet as soon as possible. Time is of the essence. At the first meetings develop a Plan for Success. This is not as difficult as it seems, it is all common sense stuff. Yes, the school will be Catholic, and all Catholic religious aspects and faith will be at the core of the educational institution. This is a given. But then it comes down to a business plan. How many students are needed at a certain Tuition level to cover the costs of running the school. Then the Plan has to be formed around this…present, and in the future.
5) CSSM should then call a mass meeting of all interested parties concerning St. Mary’s High School. A Press Release should be sent to all local media and they should all be invited to cover the mass meeting. This includes Westfield media as well as that of the Greater Springfield area. Newspapers, television, Masslive, radio, etc. At this first meeting you should lay out your purpose, Mission / Objective, and the Plan for Success that you have developed. You should ask for their support. Unlike all the others, supposedly representing St. Mary’s High, you will be operating always with 100% transparency and with excellent ongoing communication with the people.
Wait a minute! CSSM has no authority, you say? Yes it does! It is oriented toward all the faithful Catholics in the Diocese who regularly provide financial support. It is dedicated to Catholic Education and toward saving St. Mary’s High School in which you have a keen interest. This Committee, CSSM, has a perfect right to organize and rally people toward saving St. Mary’s High School…a cause that ALL of us should want.
Done right, with the current vacuum of leadership, and all the confusion at present due to the lack of transparency and good communication, people will begin to defer to CSSM for leadership. CSSM will evolve to become the de facto leader to Save St. Mary’s High School. Believe it!
Alfredo DiLascia
