St. John the Evangelist School in Duluth ended on a particularly high note this spring. The parish school and church received a $3 million donation.
The gift, which remains anonymous, dwarfs any other given in the parish's history, and possibly the entire diocese's history. The Rev. Richard Kunst, the pastor at St. John's, said it was given by a person who believes strongly in Catholic education.
"It's very exciting," he said. "To my understanding, this is the largest donation that any institution in the diocese has ever received."
The donation was made just over a month ago, but the parish community already knows exactly how it plans to spend the money: on a building addition that will connect the church to the school.
It will house a new cafeteria, kitchen, three to four classrooms and office space.
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"It's something we have been talking about for years," said Greg Moir, a trustee for the parish. He said the parish has been lacking a sufficient gathering space, which the new cafeteria will provide. "Now we'll have a state-of-the-art gathering space. ... It's going to be very, very beneficial."
Peggy Frederickson, the principal of St. John's, said the school community is thrilled about the addition.
"We are obviously very excited," she said. "It will give us some of the additional space that's been needed."
Kunst said he hopes the connection between the two buildings also will foster a stronger connection between the church and school. The parish serves about 500 families and the school about 80.
"That will only strengthen what I view to be the best grade school in the city of Duluth," he said.
The parish has not hired an architect for the project and doesn't know exactly how much the construction will cost. But if costs exceed $3 million, which Kunst said he does not expect, the parish will find a way to raise the rest of the money.
"We will not scale back," he said.
Construction is expected to start in spring 2010 and wrap up by the end of the following school year.
