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By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune March 13. 2015 11:31AM St. Mary's School buys campus from parish for $6.5 million St. Mary’s School has purchased its 23-acre campus on Black Oak Drive from its longtime landlord, Sacred Heart Parish, for $6.5 million, providing the school with equity and the parish with a legacy. “We've been the proud owners for about two weeks,” said St. Mary’s Head of School Frank Phillips on Thursday. St. Mary’s moved onto the Black Oak campus in 1961 and separated from Sacred Heart Parish in 1971 to become an independent Catholic high school and, later, secondary school. Despite the division, the school remained closely affiliated with the parish while making “below-market” payments on a lease, which would have expired in 2038. Over the last 20 years, St. Mary’s has invested about $12 million of donations into upgrading its athletic fields and adding an all-weather track, library and media center, three science labs, seven additional classrooms, a 30,000-square-foot athletic and fine arts center, and a chapel. Nonetheless, these were leasehold improvements that would have reverted to the parish if the school ever decided to quit the property, Phillips said. “We were up front with our donors so they knew they were helping us to build a leasehold for the parish,” he said. “Usually, donors think they are giving to the school and not the parish.” The lease agreement was originally designed to support St. Mary’s when the parish withdrew its direct financial support, said the Rev. Ken Sampson. “But things have changed since then, and the school is in a much stronger position and is looking more long-term,” he said. A committee of St. Mary’s trustees, members of the parish’s advisory council, Sampson and representatives of the archdiocese negotiated the sale of the property, which also had to be approved by Archbishop Alexander Sample and the Office for Alienation of Church Property at the Vatican. Phillips and Sampson signed the deed Feb. 25. The school secured $3 million in financing, pulled $3 million from its reserves and promised to provide $500,000 in scholarships over the next five years to students attending Sacred Heart Catholic School and students of parishioners. “It’s a huge safety net,” Sampson said, adding that the money has been placed in a long-term trust for the time being. “Rather than have it burn a hole in our pocket, we want to have this for decades into the future and be fiscally responsible … as we consider a variety of ministry opportunities.” The parish still owns Sacred Heart Catholic School, which operates under the archdiocese, and will maintain a close relationship with St. Mary’s School, which has agreed to keep its Catholic identity. “Our primary relationship before was as landlord and tenant, but now we are looking at ways to strengthen the connection between the faith community and the school,” Sampson said. A task force with representatives from Sacred Heart school and parish and St. Mary’s meets regularly, Sampson said, to share ideas for creating a seamless Catholic education in the Rogue Valley. St. Mary’s Academy was founded in 1865, making it the third oldest educational institution in Oregon. It has been owned by Sacred Heart Parish since 1948 and separated from the elementary school in 1961. Over the next two or three years, St. Mary’s plans to add a cafeteria — currently the students eat in a multipurpose room — and another 10 or 12 classrooms, Phillips said. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20150313/NEWS/150319782 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->