By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 8/21/03)

Following the special use permit hearing in August with the Prince William County Board of Supervisors for final approval of the construction of the high school, Diocesan Superintendent of Schools Dr. Timothy McNiff said, "We’re good to go!"

Architectural design work is set to begin in September, construction is scheduled to begin in October 2004, and the newest diocesan high school is scheduled to open August 2006 in the Cherry Hill area of Prince William County.

The diocese received preliminary approval from the Vatican in July to sell tax-exempt bonds to raise the more than $20 million needed for the school construction. This is the first time in the history of the diocese that bonds will be used to raise money for a project.

The school will cost about $31 million to build. Money for the project will come from the sale of the bonds, and the funds set aside for the building of two new high schools raised during the diocesan "Rooted in Faith — Forward in Hope" Capital Campaign.

Davenport and Company, LLC, the underwriter for the bonds, presented the diocese with a finance plan in May. Moody’s Investors Service Inc. secured an A3 rating with a "very positive outlook." This positive rating by Wall Street is due to the strong financial history of the diocese.

The sale of the bonds will be through limited public offering — they will be sold commercially as investments to corporations.

The school will initially be built to accommodate 1,000 students, but an addition can be built on to the school in order to serve up to 1,500.