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October 1, 2008
New Alumni Association Website! www.NobleAlumni.com The new site will be the permanent home of the SJV/Daniel Murphy High School Alumni Association and will allow all St. John Vianney and Daniel Murphy High School alumni to plan, coordinate and announce reunions, update their contact information and discuss all issues related to SJV/DMHS. |
Mahony Finally Speaks...
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"I'm ashamed of Daniel Murphy..."
"I am absolutely ashamed of Daniel Murphy High School." |
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For many months now, Cardinal Mahony and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles have been FLAT OUT LYING about the reason they're closing Daniel Murphy High School. Since October they have blamed low enrollment as the reason for the closure.
The real reason they're closing Daniel Murphy (and possibly several other Catholic schools) is to help pay off the settlement and the $175-million loan that must be repaid to Allied Irish Bank. Click Here to read more about how these wonderful schools being used as collateral to pay off THEIR settlement. Keep an eye on our DMHS in the News page for more news and information. |
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To help our cause, we're asking all Catholics to withhold all tithings and donations to your local parish church. Instead, please click here to download our "In Lieu of My Weekly Contribution" form.
We need to send a strong message to Cardinal Mahony and to the Archdiocese that we will not tolerate school closures to fund the settlement. In times like these, children should be the number one priority of the Archdiocese. Unfortunately, Cardinal Mahony's number one priority appears to be money and, once again, children in the Archdiocese are victimized. All Catholic schools in the Archdiocese are in jeopardy of being closed - regardless of what your school's administration may have been told by the Archdiocese. On our "watch list", for example, is St. Bernard in Playa Del Rey. St. Bernard has an enrollment capacity of 1,200 students, but is currently enrolled at just under 500 students. Denis Munoz, who was Daniel Murphy's former principal, was reassigned to St. Bernard after secretly preparing Murphy for its demise. He brought Daniel Murphy's accountant, Ray, with him in the move to St. Bernard. Recently, there were 16 or 17 layoffs of faculty and staff at St. Bernard. Will St. Bernard be Cardinal Mahony's next victim? We think so. |
The Closure
On October 5, 2007 the Archdiocese announced it would close Daniel Murphy Catholic High School at the end of the 2007-2008 academic school year. This came as quite a surprise to all of us who hold DMHS so near and dear to our hearts.
The Archdiocese blames decreased enrollment and the inability to continue subsidizing the school because of its massive sex-abuse settlements.
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"Despite efforts to increase student enrollment over the past ten years, the student population has continued to decline, and is now down to 231 students," said Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the archdiocese in a written release.
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What Tod Tamberg is NOT telling you is that the Archdiocese sent a principal to Daniel Murphy seven years ago who CAPPED enrollment and refused to accept incoming transfer students! That principal, Denis Munoz, also put an end to the successful alumni-based recruitment program to local feeder schools claiming he himself would handle recruitment. This certainly is not the way to increase enrollment.
Mr. Munoz also did away with fund-raising events, the CYO weekend basketball program, school dances and the list goes on and on. He even deleted the school's alumni database!
Daniel Murphy parents have voted to change the current tuition structure which will bring an additional surplus of $140,000 - with no Archdiocesan subsidy needed. Yet, Cardinal Mahony continues to refuse to meet with us to discuss options to keep our school open.
The Cardinal also promised that no schools or parishes would be sold to pay for the sex abuse settlement, yet it appears as though the sale of the property is the only reason the Archdiocese wants to close the school. Not only would they be closing a school with a long and important history, they would also be displacing eight or more Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet from the property.
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"The archdiocese will sell "nonessential properties" to fund its portion of the settlement, he said, adding that no parish properties or schools would be affected."
"Among those services not expected to be impacted by the settlement is the archdiocesan commitment to provide quality education to students..." |
We're determined not to let this happen. With the help of the S.O.S. Committee, the Alumni Association and the parents and students we can make a difference! We are here to help save Daniel Murphy Catholic High School. If you are as outraged as we are and want to know what you can do to help, please click here.
Donations are needed! If you would like to make a donation, please contact us or make your check payable to:
S.O.S. Daniel Murphy High School
4032 Wilshire Blvd #401
Los Angeles, CA 90010
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ATTENTION ALUMNI & PARENTS! MAKE SURE WE
HAVE YOUR CURRENT CONTACT INFORMATION! |
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Alumni - click here
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Parents - click here
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GRADUATION UPDATE:
Congratulations Class of 2008! Friday night's graduation ceremony was a huge success. Many alumni showed up to honor the Class of 2008 - the final graduating class of Daniel Murphy High School. The Class of 2008 would make any alumnus proud. Every member (100%) of the Class of 2008 will be attending a college or university. That's very impressive when compared to the national average of about 50%! Congratulations to the parents of these graduates for raising such fine young men. You should be very proud of your sons. Pictures from the graduation ceremony can be seen by clicking here. Pictures from Thursday's Baccalaureate Mass can be found here. Special thanks to the Alumni who contributed: Several generous Alumni answered the call for assistance to help provide food and refreshments for the reception that followed the graduation ceremony. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. With your help, the Alumni Association was able to provide sandwiches, snacks, dessert and refreshments for all who attended the ceremony. Thank you again. You truly are Noble men. |
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  The Dodger game was a huge success. 150 students, alumni, parents and faculty attended the game. Daniel Murphy was awarded the CIF's Shake For Sportsmanship Award and the Dodger beat the Pirates 11 to 2 !! Click here to read a message to the Alumni from Sharon Dandorf, the Principal of Daniel Murphy. Click here to see some pictures from the game. |
Many questions remain unanswered. The Archdiocese remains silent.
Recently, the parents have requested that a representative of the Archdiocese meet with them in the gymnasium at Daniel Murphy to answer questions and address the issues that remain unresolved. The request, once again, has gone unanswered.
Just how difficult is it for the Archdiocese to meet with the Daniel Murphy parents and students to honestly explain what happened and why the school must be closed? We feel the Archdiocese owes this to the Daniel Murphy community since the Archdiocese never approached the parents or current administration about a problem and what we could do to mitigate the issue. The "truth" about this whole ordeal has yet to be revealed, and frankly, our son's need closure.
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Stay up to date! Check the calendar of events page for upcoming events and important notices. The calendar of events page can be found here.
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If you have not been receiving notices, news or updates on the efforts of the SOS Committee and the DMHS Alumni Association to keep Daniel Murphy open, it's probably because we don't know how to contact you! Please visit the Alumni Update or Calendar of Events page for more information on how to send us your current contact information.
This is what the Los Angeles Junior Seminary looked like shortly after it was built in 1926. This building also served as St. John Vianney High School from 1954 to 1966. St. John Vianney Chapel, the only remaining portion of this original building, can be seen on the extreme right (North) side of the building.
DANIEL MURPHY HIGH SCHOOL --- Daniel Murphy High School in Los Angeles, originally founded in 1954, will close at the end of the 2007-2008 academic year. Photo by Ellie Hidalgo
The S.O.S. Committee, Alumni Association, parents and students are fighting very hard to Save Our School. We can make a difference and we CAN make this happen! Please keep monitoring this site for updates on our progress and for future actions and activities.
Use our Discussion Board and leave comments and other lovely Memories about DMHS.