wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] CommIttees recommend GAC continue Joy Offering

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7442 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Committees recommend GAC continue Joy Offering funds to Mary Holmes College 

Work group to continue monitoring school's progress

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Financially strapped Mary Holmes College received a new lease on
life Friday - at least for now - as two General Assembly Council committees
approved a recommendation to continue pumping money into the
Presbyterian-related college in West Point, MS.

The action, approved by the National Ministries Division Committee and the
Mission Support Services Committee, allows Christmas Joy Offering funds to
continue going to the beleaguered two-year racial-ethnic institution through
at least Nov. 2003.

The committees' recommendation now goes before the General Assembly Council
(GAC) on Saturday, which is meeting here during its regular fall meeting. If
approved by the council, the "covenant agreement" making way for the offering
would be reviewed for another three-year interval for Mary Holmes after it
expires next year in November. 

Members from both committees met together briefly to receive the
recommendation made by a three-member work group of NMD and MSS committee
members. The panel was appointed earlier this year to help the Presbyterian
Church (USA) decide whether it makes financial sense to continue supporting
the beleaguered two-year college. 

"The college has met the basic criteria this council established in June,"
said work team member Donald W. Robinson, who presented the panel's report to
the two committees, adding that the school's condition is still "fragile."

MSS committee members recommended that the work group's efforts continue in
2003 and that it provide updates on conditions at Mary Holmes at each of the
GAC's three meetings next year.
The work group's recommendation was considered an important factor in PC(USA)
officials' decision whether to continue pumping money from the denomination's
annual Christmas Joy Offering.
The loss of the church's contribution, which is $286,560 for this year, could
threaten the survival of the institution, whose financial health has been
compromised in recent years by declining enrollment and deterioration of the
college's physical plan.

A Presbyterian tradition for more than 65 years, the Christmas Joy Offering
is one of the four special offerings designated by the General Assembly of
the PC(USA) to provide congregations direct ways of supporting specific
causes that help those in need.
The receipts from the offering are distributed equally to the National
Ministries Division to support the eight Presbyterian racial ethnic schools
and colleges and to the Board of Pensions for assistance programs. 
Joining Robinson, a resident of Hot Springs Village, AR, on the work team
were Joe W. Rigsby of Jacksonville, FL, and Peter J. Pizor of Henderson, NV.
A new member must be appointed to replace Pizor, who recently rotated off the
GAC.
PC(USA) officials required Mary Holmes to meet four criteria approved June 13
by the GAC. The steps were developed by the three-person task force and
called on Mary Holmes to develop a comprehensive fund-raising strategy and
business plan for managing the school's current financial situation. It also
calls for the college to develop a strategic plan for changing its image
through communication and new programming, and to increase enrollment by 10
percent in time for the fall semester.

The school had until Oct. 15 to meet the goals, but work group members were
satisfied that Mary Holmes showed they were in compliance with the criteria
and felt comfortable making the recommendation Friday to continue the
Christmas Joy Offering through November 2003.

"We have all the information we think that we need to proceed," Robinson
said.

The criteria set in motion in June and required in order for Mary Holmes to
continue receiving Christmas Joy Offering funding:  
*	Develop a comprehensive fund-raising strategy based upon a strategic
planning process that demonstrates how the college will find sufficient funds
to sustain its mission.
Robinson said that Mary Holmes president Nathaniel Jackson has developed a
fundraising strategy that identifies specific individuals and organizations
that he has contacted or will contact to request support for the college. The
list of funding prospects has been prioritized and continuously updated.
*	Develop a comprehensive business plan that demonstrates a realistic
strategy to manage the financial situation of the college.
Robinson said Mary Holmes had implemented a business plan approved by school
trustees. The details include a 26 percent reduction in faculty and staff and
a 20 percent reduction in payroll. The savings realized through the reduction
in force is projected to result in revenues over expenditures of more than
$250,000 at the end of the current fiscal on June 30, 2002. The extra revenue
will be applied to school debt. 
*	Develop a strategic plan that shows a realistic, "yet visionary
means" of changing the fundamental "culture" of the institution with new
programs and a communication strategy that projects a new image of the
institution.
After review of its academic program and course offerings, the number of
program concentrations offered at Mary Holmes has been reduced from 18 to
three: Early Childhood Education; Cosmetology and Liberal Arts. Under the
plan, students may take courses of study with emphasis in education, English,
mathematics, the natural sciences, and social sciences. 
*	Achieve an increase in full-time equivalent enrollment of 10 percent
in the fall semester of 2002 with evidence of sustainability.	

During the fall semester, 2002, the school had an enrollment of 379 students,
a 22.3 percent increase over fall 2001. Of this, 280 were full-time students
and 99 were listed as part-time. 

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