Columbus High School (Waterloo, Iowa) - History and Financing

History and Financing

Columbus High School first opened its doors to a class of 406 men and 431 women on 31 August 1959 following a three year fund-raising effort. The school's primary advocate, Father A.A. McAvoy, began directing fundraising efforts in 1956 for the school. By 1959, McAvoy's efforts had yielded nearly two million dollars worth of pledges, a remarkable amount in the small community of Waterloo, and the largest raising effort in the history of the community at the time.

In 1958 the cornerstone was blessed by Archbishop Leo Binz, and Father John Paar was named principal later that year. In 1968, Father Walter Brunkan, the assistant principal, was promoted to principal and remained in that role for over twenty years. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque reassigned Fr. Brunkan to St. Mary Catholic Church in Greene, Iowa, in 1991, and Michael Palmer became the first lay principal. Mr. Palmer retired in 1999, and once again the assistant principal, Todd Dirth, took over. In 2004 Richard Caye took over as principal of Columbus, his tenure lasted only one year before being replaced in 2005 by Tom Ulses.

As of the summer of 2011, a new Catholic middle school will be built on CHS grounds and will serve as an extension of Columbus. It will be called Blessed Maria Assunta Pallota Middle School. It will contain grades 6-8 and will consolidate the middle school part of the Catholic schools of Blessed Sacrament, St. Edwards, and Sacred Heart.