about our capital campaign

As the first Catholic school built in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 30 years, Faithful Shepherd Catholic School was dedicated by Archbishop Harry Flynn on August 13, 2000.

Built on 29 acres of land, the School campus and facilities cost $15.8 million dollars. The construction and land purchases were funded in part by an initial capital campaign conducted in the late 1990’s by the three sponsoring parishes - St. Peter, St. John Neumann and St. Thomas Becket.

Over $5.4 million dollars were pledged in the initial campaign, entitled “The Time Has Come.” A mortgage with a floating interest rate, comprised of tax-exempt bonds issued by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis through Dakota County, was secured for the balance. The principal balance of this mortgage is due January 1, 2012.

The goal of the “Shepherd the Way” campaign is to raise $2.5 million dollars, of which $2 million dollars will be used to reduce the School debt. Reducing the debt as planned will allow the School’s mortgage balance to be refinanced at a fixed interest rate without a balloon payment. Reducing the debt and refinancing the balance will also allow the School to eliminate a substantial amount of interest expense from its annual budget, strengthening the School’s ability to invest in other priorities that maintain and enhance the quality of education available at Faithful Shepherd Catholic School.

The remaining $500,000 raised in the campaign is specifically targeted to supporting important School technology needs. The Shepherd the Way campaign positions us for the future when our parish contributions, currently 100% used for debt service, can be used to build a capital improvement fund which will be used for major maintenance, renovation, and equipment purchases.