DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) – A De Pere school is getting a total overhaul thanks to a generous donation.
On Tuesday, Jim and Miriam Mulva announced plans to fund a new Notre Dame elementary school and St. Francis Xavier parish hall.
The couple both grew up in De Pere and attended Catholic school, citing both factors as particularly important when deciding to fund the project.
“It’s important for Catholic education to be competitive,” says Jim Mulva. “So, we feel that we have to have competitive facilities.”
For school leaders, the donation is beyond belief.
“It takes my breath away,” explains Molly Mares, school principal. “The amount of generosity in this gift is something that I couldn’t even dream of.”
She adds that it couldn’t come at a better time, either.
A number of years ago, a study was done that determined the building was in need of some serious improvements.
“Our boilers are on their last legs,” she explains. “So every year it’s a little bit of a matter of, yes, we made it through another winter.”
Right now, the school is comprised of two separate buildings.
Those two buildings serve more than 350 students in early childhood through eighth grade.
For Mares, the idea of having all students under one roof is an exciting one.
“So to be all on one site allows us to continue to form that really strong school and Catholic culture,” she says.
The plan is to construct a new three-story, 87,000 square-foot Notre Dame school, which will be built at the current site of the Notre Dame Elementary School on S. Huron St. and George St.
Additionally, Miron Construction is eyeballing a quick turnaround that would allow students and teachers to go seamlessly from the current school to the new building.
Organizers are planning for the current Notre Dame middle school and St. Francis Xavier parish hall to be demolished next summer, while the new school building should be ready by August of 2020.
“So it’s really beautiful timing to receive this gift without having to make those challenging decisions about our current structures,” explains Mares.
She adds that to receive this type of gift, especially since they rely upon the generosity of donors as a private school, is something wonderful.
“As a planning team we’ve talked about how it’s not just a once in a lifetime opportunity,” she explains. “But a once in a three or four lifetimes opportunities.”
