The grade 9-12 Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington. Provided photo Vermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese, aiming to reorganize its depleting finances in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, wants to sell its parochial Rice Memorial High School to supporters to protect the 400-student, grade 9-12 South Burlington campus from potential liquidation. The state’s largest religious denomination has asked a judge for permission to sign a contract with a new nonprofit entity, RMHS Inc., which has offered to purchase Rice’s two-story, 42-classroom building and surrounding 27 acres of athletic fields, parking areas and wetlands for $4.3 million. “Both the diocese and the purchaser are ready, willing and able to move forward with the proposed sale of the purchased assets as soon as possible,” church lawyers have written in a motion seeking court approval. They say the move would “ensure the continuity of the charitable, educational and religious purposes of RMHS in advance of the 2026-2027 academic year.” Judge Heather Cooper is scheduled to consider the sale and its potential impact on creditors at a hearing in Burlington on Aug. 28 — four days before the start of classes. The diocese filed for Chapter 11 protection in the fall of 2024, arguing that a past series of priest misconduct settlements had reduced its highest-level bank-and-building holdings by half, to about $35 million. As part of the process, the church preemptively has sold a few of its properties, including its South Burlington headquarters for $3.13 million and Rutland’s former Loretto Home senior living facility for $1 million. Behind the scenes, the diocese has spent the past year discussing a potential Rice sale with its school board and a group of supporters interested in purchasing the property, according to court records. “The proposal is intended to preserve Rice’s Catholic identity while providing a strong foundation for future generations,” Christina DeGraff-Murphy, chair of the Rice School Board, said Monday in a statement to VTDigger. “Students and families should expect no material changes to their Rice experience. Rice’s mission, educational programs, traditions, faculty and staff and commitment to Catholic education will remain intact.” The school has been working with unnamed “dedicated donors who are helping make this opportunity possible,” DeGraff-Murphy said. “Because this matter remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings, we are limited in our ability to comment further at this time,” DeGraff-Murphy added before concluding: “Simply stated: Rice will remain Rice.” The school’s market value is estimated at between $4 million and $6 million, according to White + Burke Real Estate Advisors of Burlington. The firm based the figure on the property’s proximity to a residential community. “This location lends itself well to the school use but might be problematic for other commercial uses such as an office building campus or high density residential because of the limited access and neighborhood concerns,” White + Burke wrote in a report included in the court filing. “Absent Rice, the property would likely be repurposed into housing development.” READ MORE Supporters initially offered $2 million for the school before increasing the figure to $4.3 million after negotiations with the diocese, according to court records. Church lawyers couldn’t cite any recent sales of Vermont high schools, but listed such campus purchases in the past decade as Marlboro College for $1.7 million, College of St. Joseph in Rutland for $2 million, Goddard College in Plainfield for $3.4 million, Green Mountain College in Poultney for $4.5 million and Southern Vermont College in Bennington for $4.6 million. The diocese is asking the judge to allow a private sale. “Significant concern exists that a fully public sale process would severely and negatively impact student enrollment at RMHS, which the purchaser indicated would force it to reduce and potentially withdraw its offer,” church lawyers wrote in their court motion. “Additionally, the diocese will not be required to make commission payments to any brokers or agents, increasing the net proceeds available for the bankruptcy estate.” Rice began in 1917 as Cathedral High School in downtown Burlington before moving to a new name and its current South Burlington location in 1959, according to its history. Rice is one of three Catholic high schools in Vermont, alongside Mount St. Joseph Academy in Rutland and St. Michael School in Brattleboro. The diocese hasn’t announced any plans for the latter two institutions or its 10 schools for elementary and middle grades. The potential sale comes as attorneys for the church and clergy abuse claimants fight in court over who should have access to what assets. The diocese is arguing that its holdings are limited to auxiliary buildings such as its now-sold headquarters, Loretto Home and Rice. But a creditors committee representing more than 100 abuse claimants has asked for authority to pursue an estimated $500 million of local parish property and possessions that were placed in trusts in 2006 to shelter them from court verdicts. Under federal law, both the court and creditors must approve any Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The ongoing disagreement between the two sides has cost the diocese $2 million in legal bills and counting, according to court records. Cooper has threatened to dismiss the case if the church doesn’t submit a larger reorganization proposal by fall. Ending the process without a solution would further endanger the diocese’s finances by reviving abuse lawsuits placed on hold by the bankruptcy filing. The church has paid $34.5 million to settle 67 clergy misconduct claims in the past two decades, according to records, only to still face 119 more dating as far back as 1950. Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont’s Catholic Church aims to protect Rice Memorial High by selling the parochial school to supporters. ...read more read less