The Board of Mt Carmel College Ltd (BMCC) has withdrawn its application for initial registration of the independent secondary Catholic college.
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The Board of Studies (BOS) needed to know by the end of October, whether the school would be operational in 2015, but without the support of Archbishop Chris Prowse, a BOS inspection could not take place and approval of the facilities could not be granted.
At the end of July, there was a genuine belief from the BMCC that the school, catering for years 7-10 would be open next year, and by 2017, would extend to year 12.
That plan was then dealt a massive blow when Archbishop Prowse, prohibited the BOS from inspecting the Mt Carmel buildings they had leased from the parish.
The Archbishop's reasoning was that “the proposed campus sharing arrangement is not viable”, he said at the time.
Even then, the board was optimistic that they could find a solution.
Unfortunately the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn did not change their stance, and at the BMCC October monthly meeting, they realised they were out of time.
BMCC secretary Ms Gourlay issued a press release on behalf of the board, expressing the difficulty of the decision.
"The Board of Directors of Mt Carmel College Ltd is extremely conscious of the timing surrounding the Archbishop’s decision and wishes to preserve its ongoing working relationship with the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards and the parents of existing and potential high school students who need to make decisions in relation to 2015 enrolments. Therefore, this most disappointing of decisions has had to be made," the statement read.
When contacted by the Tribune, Ms Gourlay wanted to stress that the board would not disband, and they would continue the fight.
"We can make it happen but not next year, it's not a next year thing, this will be several years down the track. This will be a future decision that will come about but we will continue to work towards providing that choice for the Yass community," she said.
"So those that wish to send their children to a Catholic teaching, Christian-based school will have an opportunity to do so in the near future."
Acting mayor Michael McManus said he was confident the "steely determination" of the BMCC, would see the vision fulfilled.
"I share this group's disappointment and on behalf of the Yass community I encourage them to continue their hard work," he said passionately.
"There is a future for Catholic high school education in the Yass Valley and I encourage them to persist with all the determination they can muster in order to achieve their goal. This is only a speed bump because there's a steely determination there."
The one constant in this saga has been the Archbishop's push for Yass families to take their children to Catholic schools in Canberra.
This has been roundly critised by the Yass community and as Ms Gourlay says - "I don't believe that he understands the damage and disconnect that he is causing by making this decision in this community."
"The Board of Directors of Mt Carmel College Ltd wishes to thank the Yass Valley community for its assistance and support to date," she continued.
"We look forward to working with you in the coming months to build a new, independent Catholic school in our community."