History
In 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.
Archbishop Fiorenza approved the plan and on July 1, 2004 the school was reopened as O’Connell Consolidated High School. In the spring of 2007, the school's board of trustees decided to rename the school O'Connell College Preparatory School, to help distinguish it from other local public and private schools of secondary education.
In 2008 the Houston Press reported that O'Connell may close due to damage from Hurricane Ike.
Read more about this topic: O'Connell College Preparatory School
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