Bonner-Prendie alumni raise $1M to keep school open

Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast, appealing the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's recommendation that the school be closed, surpassed the $1 million fund-raising target today around noon.

"We had some big donations come in over the weekend," the largest an anonymous gift of $100,000, said Joe Mattson, president of the Monsignor Bonner Alumni Association.

The money for the Catholic high school in Upper Darby has come from all sorts of donors, from strangers to even a parent at rival Catholic high school Cardinal O'Hara in neighboring Springfield.

Mattson, a '71 alumnus, said only that the group exceeded the million-dollar mark and he did not have an exact figure. The last official tally was released on Sunday at $950,000.

"We'll keep trying to raise money until we know if we'll be around," Mattson said. Even as he spoke, administrators from Bonner-Prendie, as the schools' students call it, were in a formal appeal meeting at the Archdiocese.

The meeting began at 3 p.m. A spokesperson for the Archdiocese said there are no plans to release a statement concerning the appeal's outcome.

Mattson said the Alumni Association has kept records of all donors and will return the contributions if the schools close.

The funds do not go directly to Bonner Prendie, but instead are collected by the Alumni Association with the hope of using them for scholarships if the school stays open next year.