SOUTH BURLINGTON (VT)
VTDigger [Montpelier VT]
October 26, 2026
By Kevin O'Connor
A nonprofit aiming to save the South Burlington parochial school campus from potential Chapter 11 liquidation has increased its bid to $5.9 million.
Supporters wanting to save the Vermont Roman Catholic Diocese’s flagship Rice Memorial High School from potential liquidation in the church’s ongoing Chapter 11 financial reorganization case have upped their offer from $4.3 million to $5.9 million.
The state’s largest religious denomination asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge this summer for permission to privately offer the grade 9-12 South Burlington campus to the new nonprofit entity RMHS Inc., whose principal officers are the nine members of the Rice School Board.
But a creditors’ committee representing more than 100 people who have filed clergy abuse claims against the diocese contested the plan’s initial price tag — spurring all sides to hold mediation talks this fall and supporters to raise their bid.
“The diocese has discussed the purchaser’s offer with the official committee,” church lawyers have written in court papers filed this month in advance of a scheduled Nov. 20 hearing on the issue. “The committee consents to the proposed sale.”