O'Connell College Preparatory School is a 4-year coeducational parochial/private high school in Galveston, Texas, United States that offers university-preparatory programs. It was founded in 1968 as a consolidation of Galveston Island's three existing Catholic high schools: Kirwin High School and Dominican High School and Ursuline Academy and is the only Roman Catholic high school in Galveston County.HistoryIn the fall of 1968, the religious orders operating the three schools agreed on consolidation as a means of continuing Catholic secondary education in Galveston, offering a broader curriculum than was possible in any of the three smaller high schools. Bishop John Morkovsky, S.T.D., approved the plan and appointed a Board of Trustees composed of laymen and priests representing all the parishes in Galveston County. The Board named the newly consolidated school after the Right Rev. Monsignor Daniel P. O’Connell, P.A., pastor of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Galveston from 1933 until his death in 1966, and a longtime supporter of Catholic education.In 2003, after incurring many years of financial debt, Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza announced O’Connell High School would close at the end of the 2003-2004 school year.Archbishop Fiorenza offered to allow the school to remain open, if funding could be secured that would enable the school to operate without any subsidy from the Archdiocese.In the spring of 2004 a plan was presented to the Archbishop in which a private foundation, the O’Connell Foundation, would be established with funds from alumni and others in the community. The foundation would offset any expenses previously covered by the Archdiocese, as well as provide for the lease of the campus, which the Archbishop wanted to sell.
