Several Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Omaha have changed their operations and governance models in an effort to maximize resources and reduce pastors' administrative load. 
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Catholic schools work to maximize resources through changes to operational, governance models

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

August 5, 2024 (OMAHA, NE)—Several Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Omaha have changed their operations and governance models in an effort to maximize resources and reduce pastors’ administrative load. 

“The logistical changes implemented by some of our Catholic schools provide greater support for the long-term sustainability of Catholic Education in northeast Nebraska,” said Vickie Kauffold, superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese. “This is important because these schools can now share important personnel rather than compete for teachers. These changes also will strengthen Catholic education by encouraging families in a parish to work with their Catholic school to become missional communities.” 

Four schools – Columbus Catholic, Bergan Catholic in Fremont, West Point Guardian Angels Central Catholic and Hartington Cedar Catholic – have instituted Boards of Limited Jurisdiction with a lay president running operations of the school and reporting to a board of lay people from the school community. The pastor is on the board to provide oversight and ensure tenets of the Catholic faith are followed. 

Schools that have implemented operations changes include:
 

  •  Lindsay Holy Family and St. Francis junior/senior high schools, which merged to become Archangels Catholic High School in Humphrey.  
  • St. Boniface Elementary in Elgin ceased operations. Students who attended that school will now attend Pope John XXIII High School, which operated in the same building and expanded its educational offerings to include PK – 12 grade. 
  • St. Joan of Arc in Omaha, which ceased operations as a parish school in May. However, the Dual Language Academy is using the school building to run its program. The Dual Language Academy will have PK – 6th grade in the upcoming school year. It will add 7th and 8th grades in the coming years.  

The Archdiocese of Omaha operates 51 elementary and 16 high schools throughout northeast Nebraska. 

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