NORWICH ()
The Day [New London CT]
July 30, 2025
By Daniel Drainville
Montville — Saint Bernard School has decided to cut ties with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, which has sponsored the school since it was founded in 1956, Head of Schools Don Macrino confirmed Wednesday.
Macrino said the school wants to “create a firewall between the finances of the school and the diocese.”
“Most (donors) who we’ve talked to over the past two years — they explained that they were really kind of cautionary as long as there was really significant financial ties to the diocese,” Macrino said. “I think they were worried about further bankruptcy issues.”
“We felt that it would reinvigorate our donations from our alumni and other benevolent members of the community,” he added.
The school’s Board of Directors, which consists mostly of alumni, and the diocese put out a joint news release Wednesday announcing the decision.
The news release announced the separation as “a strategic transition with the school’s governance structure that positions the school for long-term growth and stability while affirming its identity as a Catholic institution.”
It added the Board of Directors had requested “complete control over the governance of the school,” and that the diocese agreed to “relinquish its limited reserve powers.”
Macrino said said the diocese, board, and Bishop Richard Reidy spent three weeks meeting to discuss the separation. Ultimately, the decision was made “collaboratively” between the school and diocese, Macrino said.
“A reluctance to donate”
The decision comes a little more than two years after a federal bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of the school. It was one of the assets the diocese was forced to liquidate as part of a bankruptcy plan to help fund settlement payments to alleged victims of sexual assaults by priests and other diocesan employees.
Last October, the school building and 113 acres on which it sits were sold to the Mohegan Tribe for $6.5 million. As part of the agreement, Saint Bernard was allowed to lease the building and a 43-acre portion of the property for 20 years at a cost of $1 a year.
But while the school was guaranteed a spot to operate for another 20 years, Macrino said, the sale was misunderstood by some alumni and donors who help fund the school’s operation.
Macrino explained that Saint Bernard, like many private schools, relies on donations to fund its operating expenses. In March 2024, the school began soliciting donations from its approximately 11,000 alumni. It’s unclear how successful the campaign was.
“The school, as is the case with any private school that exists, tuition alone is never enough to support the capital expenses of running the school,” Macrino reiterated Wednesday.
But since announcement of the diocese’s bankruptcy, uncertainty “really sprung up” amongst donors, and then was compounded by the sale of the property,” he said, adding that some misunderstood the negotiation of the sale with the Mohegan Tribe.
“There was the impression, I think, that some people think it was unfair that the school was sold,” Macrino said. “In reality, there really was no choice in that matter. It was a valuable piece of property that there was some interest in.”
“After the bankruptcy, and ultimately the sale of the school, a number of our alumni and donors, who’ve been good to the school over the many, many years — we sensed there was really a reluctance to donate to the school, certainly while the diocese was in the midst of the bankruptcy,” Macrino said.
Macrino said the separation “allows the school to stand independently in terms of its finances” after having to hire attorneys for the bankruptcy and sale.
“Any donations given to the school can be used towards tuition assistance and capital expenses to the school,” he said.
Macrino said the separation will not affect the school’s programs, and students attending the school, and their families, should not notice any difference.
“We will remain a Catholic school,” Macrino said. “We will still have a theology department and practice the sacraments. We offer communion and confession and so forth.”
The Board of Directors in a statement expressed gratitude to alumni, donors and community members for their support and committed to exploring the establishment of a dedicated endowment that would allows to contribute, with confidence that their money would directly support the school’s students, programs and long-term mission. The school currently receives about $75,00 a year from the diocese, Macrino said.
“Whether it will continue or not — those details have not been finalized,” he said. “I would hope so, but I honestly can’t speak to that right now.”
Macrino said the board ultimately went to Reidy about the separation.
“He was very willing to listen,” Macrino said. “He went to his advisers (which include Diocesan priests) and decided this really would be a good move for the school going forward.”
Reidy and the diocese did not comment Wednesday.
Reidy, in a statement made in the release, said “Our Catholic Schools are a vital part of the life of the Church, particularly in the formation of young people in Catholic faith in virtue.”
“I want to offer my full support for the success of Saint Bernard School in this endeavor and willingly accede to this request of the Board of Directors,” the statement said.
Reidy went on to express his heartfelt gratitude to those who’ve supported the school, including alumni, families and staff, the board and diocese, the Mohegan Tribe, and Xaverian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious institution that will now be the sole sponsor for the school.
Macrino said alumni still harbor a “profound love” for the school and want nothing more than to see it succeed in the future.
“We are confident that this new message is going to ensure people that they aren’t in danger of donations being lost to anyone,” Macrino said. “They go directly to St. Bernard School.”