Archbishop Murphy High School students won’t see a completed building when they come back to school this fall. But school officials hope that by fall 2005 they will.
Grace Hall opened for classes in February with a completed exterior, basement and first floor. However, work continues on the second floor complete with a library, computer lab and four more classrooms, said Terry Ryan, the capital campaign director for Archbishop Murphy and parent of two of its students. Ryan is also a former member of the school’s board of trustees and the mayor of Mill Creek.
“Grace Hall is our top priority right now,” Ryan said. “We need those extra classrooms to be done by the fall of 2005.”
The ongoing capital campaign began in 1997 when the school was still under its former name of Holy Cross. In 1999, the school changed its name and moved to its current 22-acre location northeast of Mill Creek.
Since then the school has put its energy toward Grace Hall on a need and funding basis.
“The student body is growing by about eight to 10 percent every year,” said Ryan. “After Grace Hall is finished, we will be able to hold 425-450 students, as opposed to approximately 358 students now.”
The school is currently in the middle of its fund raising campaign, which focuses on grants and soliciting contributions from parents, the board of trustees and businesses.
“We want to expand the student body further while befitting the current students,” said Ryan.
After Grace Hall is finished, the capital campaign will continue to raise funds for one more classroom building and a chapel.
“The funds received will move right into working on the on the next building,” said Ryan. “The time line relies completely on the funding.”
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