Despite budget demands related to Hurricane Katrina, the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi has strongly recommended increased financial support for All Saints’ Episcopal School of Vicksburg.

Meeting in Southaven at its annual council during the weekend, the diocese’s council approved a recommendation that its executive committee increase its support for the school by at least 10 times and that each parish in the diocese begin contributing to the school $1 a year for each of its members.

The recommendation for direct giving from the diocese would have one-half of 1 percent of its annual budget go to the school and could mean between about $10,000 and $14,000 for the school, up from an annual contribution in recent years of $1,000, diocese communications director Lauren Auttonberry said.

If the council’s recommendation to parishes is followed, the school could receive an additional $18,000 to $20,000 a year, Auttonberry added.

The board of the school, at 2717 Confederate Ave., said in a November letter to parents and alumni that it needed $1.6 million in contributions to continue operating until May, $2.1 million for the next two years and $3.6 million to ensure that it will remain open indefinitely. At last count the school had about 126 boarding and day students.

Its rector and headmaster, the Rev. Bill Martin, said the council’s action is important not only for the money it will generate but also as a strong gesture of support for keeping the school open.

&#8220In this day and time, when six other churches have been swept away or damaged” by Hurricane Katrina, the council’s approval of the recommendation was an especially &#8220real statement of faith and belief in All Saints’.”

The recommendations of support for the school were proposed by the diocese’s Vicksburg parishes – Christ Church, Church of the Holy Trinity, St. Alban’s and St. Mary’s. Together, those parishes contribute thousands of dollars a year to the school, said the Rev. Michael Nation, rector of Holy Trinity.

The school is owned by the dioceses of Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Western Louisiana. The proposal will be forwarded to them for consideration at their next diocesan councils, Auttonberry said.

The Diocese of Mississippi has 88 congregations, including 51 parishes. Its executive committee has 19 members.

The school’s board and parents and alumni groups continue to work to raise the necessary funds to keep it open, Martin said.

The school, for seventh- through 12th-graders, is 97 years old. The possibility of its closure for financial reasons was announced in 2003 but a reprieve was granted after a jump in enrollment and the contribution of hundreds of thousands of dollars.