LEWISTON — The new board of directors established to take Saint Dominic Academy’s high school private has been granted the opportunity to continue operating at Holy Family School on Sabattus Street.

The Prince of Peace Parish Council unanimously accepted the offer made by the board to move from the Auburn campus at 121 Gracelawn Road.

It is the only other viable space in the community that could accommodate the high school in case the board is unable to secure the Auburn campus, according to the board’s Facebook post Tuesday.

“We’ve been provided a greenlight to lease Holy Family School in Lewiston to continue Catholic secondary education in 2025/2026,” board member Jonathan LaBonte said Wednesday. “That location, while not ideal when compared to Auburn, is a bridge to sustain the school, its students and educations as we negotiate for the community to manage the Auburn campus in the future.”

The board has been scrambling since the diocese announced in late March that it was closing the high school after this school year due to low enrollment and operating losses going back several years.

The board made an initial offer to the Diocese of Portland to lease the Auburn campus almost two weeks ago, which included covering all utilities and operating costs of the campus.

In a statement Wednesday, the diocese said it “has shared with the independent group the standard diocesan lease requirements and has outlined what is necessary to operate as a Catholic school.”

The board determined the terms were “unreasonable given how the campus was funded and the current state of facilities management,” LaBonte said.

Under the terms, the board would pay the diocese $20,000 per month, along with operational costs, maintenance and utilities. The board does not want to fund repairs that have been deferred by the diocese and pay that much in monthly rent, he said.

“The Auburn campus is known to have deferred maintenance and lacks any capital reserve accounts to address unexpected system failures or needed repairs,” LaBonte said. “The board did not find it reasonable to not only pay the diocese $20,000 a month as a commercial tenant, for it to profit off a Lewiston-Auburn community-funded asset, but also to have the liability of that deferred maintenance shifted to us.”

On top of that, the diocese still intends to use the Auburn campus fields and gym for athletics and extracurricular activities next school year, he said.

The board countered with a request to have the rent payments placed in a capital reserve account for maintenance or unexpected capital needs, he said. The board has not received a response to any of its counteroffers.

The agreement with Holy Family School will include $5,500 monthly rent plus utilities, LaBonte said. The board is still working on leasing sports facilities should it not operate the Auburn campus next school year.

“The Parish Council and Finance Council voted unanimously in support, and suggested some of that rental income might be provided as scholarships to parish families,” he said.

The board has previously aired frustration with the diocese’s lack of communication and its failure to agree to many sit-down meetings. The diocese had considered operating the high school for a “bridge year,” which would have allowed the new board to get better established and take the school private the school year after.

The diocese laid out stipulations and conditions the board had to meet before it would agree to operate one more year, including a $3 million escrow in a bank account by May 15 to cover possible operating losses during that school year.

Though the board raised more than a $1 million in donations and pledges, it did not meet the $3 million requirement.

As of Tuesday, the board had met 74% of its enrollment goal and has $260,000 in the bank, the Facebook post said. It is still working to enroll students and turn pledges into fulfilled contributions. The board launched a GoFundMe campaign last week, which has raised just over $9,000 of a stated $2 million goal.

The board still intends to offer an array of opportunities for students next school year, including sports programming, community college classes and advanced placement courses, according to the Facebook post. In the meantime, it will continue to work toward a positive outcome.

“Please know that we understand your frustration, and the urgency of this situation,” the Facebook post reads. “We are aware that important deadlines are approaching and we are working tirelessly to provide real-time updates as we move forward.”

The board said it expects to finalize its plan for next school year before the end of the week.