Diocese of Greensburg to put $20M in donations toward tuition assistance
By Taylor Brown
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Catholic education is now a more affordable option for Mon Valley families thanks to a multi-million dollar anonymous donation.
On Wednesday, the Diocese of Greensburg made a groundbreaking announcement throughout the county that will ensure access to Catholic education across its 12 schools in Armstrong, Indiana, Fayette and Westmoreland counties — a $20 million anonymous donation to the St. Pope John Paul II Tuition Opportunity Partnership (TOP.)
The announcement was made during a press briefing at St. Sebastian Regional Catholic School, where parents, stakeholders and students eagerly awaited the news in the school’s serenity garden.
The scholarship was created last year after the same anonymous donor gave the Diocese of Greensburg nearly $2.5 million to make sure Catholic education could continue in the area.
In the past year, the scholarship has helped 800 students pay tuition.
Of those, 250 students were new, increasing Catholic school enrollment in the Diocese of Greensburg by 13.1%, the highest number in the country.
At St. Sebastian Regional Catholic School, that number was even greater, with an enrollment increase of 18%.
After seeing the success of the scholarship, the anonymous donor decided to extend the TOP Student program for an additional five years. The scholarship will also be aided by new donors, including Jay W. Cleveland, Jr., president and CEO of Cleveland Brothers, and more than 100 other businesses and individuals who have also committed to the Pennsylvania Educational Income Tax Credit program.
John Goetz, of the law firm Jones Day, Pittsburgh, provided free legal services to the diocese to finalize paperwork for the donation.
Diocese of Greensburg Bishop Larry K. Kulick was accompanied by Jennifer Miele, chief communications officer, and other St. Sebastian staff members during the announcement.
“Today’s news is of monumental importance to the Catholic schools of our diocese,” Miele said.
In addition to securing funding for the continuation of the scholarship, capital improvement projects totaling more than $300,000 were gifted to the diocese from Lindy Paving, Golden Triangle Construction and Arch Masonry, which will help beautify and improve many of the school campuses.
At St. Sebastian, masonry will be improved and the parking lot will be repaved.
St. Sebastian Business Manager Tiffany Miller called the news groundbreaking.
“We are thrilled to be hosting this press conference for what is surely groundbreaking news,” Miller said. “We are so glad you are all here to hear this.”
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.
Taylor Brown / Mon Valley Independent
St. Sebastian Regional Catholic School teachers Bill Domiano, Michelle Stockey, Erika Fouch, Brooke Lundy, Bethany Carcella, Maureen Bush, Tracy Plevel, Debbie Antal and Andrea Morgan are shown with Bishop Larry Kulick following the donation announcement at the school Wednesday.
