Trustees have again granted All Saints’ a reprieve, meaning the 97-year-old Episcopal school will remain open for the academic year.

&#8220They reviewed our operations and saw how well things are going – especially with enrollment – and they made the commitment to meet all of our short-term needs,” said the Rev. Bill Martin, rector and headmaster.

Monday’s meeting was about a month after a letter was sent out by school officials, stating that $3.6 million was needed in order for the school to remain open indefinitely, $2.1 million for the school to operate for the next two years and $1.6 million to last until May.

In 2003, the trustees also announced the school on Confederate Avenue would close, but granted a reprieve in response to a grassroots effort to raise money and increase enrollment. The school now has 126 students.

Martin said about 40 parents, alumni and faculty and staff attended a portion of the Monday meeting to make their case to trustees and promise to raise funds.

&#8220They were all very concerned, but upbeat,” he said. &#8220There were parents whose children have only been here a short time saying that the school had ‘saved’ their children. The faculty and staff, for the most part, were voicing their concerns and putting their focus on the children, which they believe are the spirit and soul of the school.”

Kim Stribling, director of student affairs, said it was important for her to convey her feelings about the school.

&#8220This school has a soul and our soul is made up of the students – people from different walks of life,” she said.

School officials had said that there was a possibility the board would close the school before the end of the school year, but a noticeable fund-raising effort spawned by parents and alumni, similar to that after the 2003 announcement, may be what helped the board grant a reprieve.

Board member Bobbie Marascalco said this fund-raising effort will be a lasting one.

&#8220Everybody’s energized. We’re keeping it going this time,” she said.

Cyndi Holt, mother of 10th-grade boarding student Eleanor Holt, decided at a meeting held Dec. 4 for school supporters that organization was needed. In that meeting, a parents’ association was formed and in one week, volunteers came to the fore to begin an effort to raise the necessary funds.

&#8220I said in that meeting, ‘We need not leave here without some sort of organization,’” she said. &#8220It became evident there was a need for strong support and we needed to organize ourselves with specific tasks.”

The parents’ group has since set-up a developmental headquarters on the school’s campus. Volunteers, consisting of both parents and alumni, have been sending mail-outs, updating a mailing list of all alumni, investigating available grants and lending support to faculty and staff.

Holt, who lives in Pensacola and has a house in Vicksburg, has a simple reason for stepping up in this effort. It’s one to which many are holding strong.

&#8220It’s because we love this place. The school is almost 100 years old, and it’s a very special place,” she said. &#8220It provides a safe environment for children to grow into the people they’re going to be.”

Greg Head, the school’s director of physical education and the dean of students, said his message to the board was for them to keep the school open at least until the end of the year for the students’ sake. Head has been with the school for 25 years.

&#8220There are a lot of great kids here. I asked (the board) to keep it open until the end of the year – at least to give them plenty of time to find a good school that could replace All Saints’,” he said.

The revitalized energy that came along with the announcement Monday is giving many school supporters hope that this will be the last time the school will face closure.

&#8220We jumped through this hurdle,” said academic dean Linda Hall, who has been with the school for more than 25 years.

When the announcement that the school would close came in 2003, Hall, who has two children who graduated from the school, retired to relieve the school of her salary expense. She returned the following school year after the school was granted the reprieve. She said the energy she has seen this time gives her hope that the school will keep its doors open for many years.

Charlene Eichelberger, former head of the physical education department and a recently elected board member, said in her first meeting several months ago, she was ready to support the decision to close the school. But, after spending time with the students, she will never go back to her original feelings.

&#8220At the first meeting I went to, I thought the school was about ready – that it had seen its Waterloo. But I stayed all day long with those kids and my whole attitude changed. I told Bishop Gray that he would never get my vote to close the school,” she said.

Martin said the board will continue to meet in order to decide the future of the school beyond this school year.

&#8220We’re off to a real good start, but we have a long way to go,” Martin said. &#8220The board has reaffirmed the position it took on fundraising in November. We still need to raise $1.6 million to finish the year and we’re planning to do that.”

The board will have a conference call in late January and will meet for a full meeting again in March.