Someone San Diego Should Know: Gina Olsen

Gina Olsen recalled when she became principal at St. Rita’s School, her son said, “Mom, that’s on the Four Corners of Death. You can’t work there.”

The Four Corners of Death, at Euclid and Imperial avenues in San Diego, was the scene of gang warfare in the 1980s. Just steps from that intersection is St. Rita’s School, a small Catholic school, which has served the community for 74 years.

In early 2014, the Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced the school would be closed. Olsen led the effort to save it.

Born in 1965 into a family with 11 children and modest financial means, they moved from Pennsylvania to Santee in 1975. Her parents emphasized religious training, sending the children to Catholic elementary schools.

“I’ve always felt a closeness to Catholic schools because of my upbringing,” Olsen said.

After earning a master’s degree in education, she taught kindergarten at a Catholic school in Lakeside.

“Although the pay is generally less than public schools,” she explained, “I chose to teach at a Catholic school because they made me who I am.”

When the Lakeside school closed for financial reasons in 2012, Olsen was offered the job at St. Rita’s.

As today, the school had about 200 students ranging from preschoolers to eighth graders, drawing students primarily from the neighborhood.

“This is a challenging neighborhood with a history of crime, gangs and poverty,” Olsen said. “The school is important to the community and accepts students with or without ability to pay tuition. And they are not required to be Catholic.”

Announcement of the school’s closing in 2014 was prompted by its inability to make payroll. Financial issues were also affecting other Catholic schools, and the diocese was studying how to reverse the trend.

“I met with the pastor at St. Rita’s Parish and discussed how we could change the decision and make the school sustainable,” Olsen said. “It was a combination of cutting costs and raising money.”

With the diocese’s help to make payroll and the school’s closure on hold, Olson took charge of the budget. All spending was re-evaluated, vendor contracts renegotiated, staffing reduced and space consolidated to save maintenance costs.

“We reduced everyone’s salaries,” Olsen said. “It was difficult. Teachers’ pay was reduced to $28,500. Some worked second jobs. Others got second mortgages. But all except two teachers stayed with us.”

In addition to cost-cutting, Olsen had a new job description: fundraiser. It was something she had never done.

“At the time, we were relying on tuition, bingo proceeds and the parish bizarre. These were obviously insufficient, particularly since a large percentage of our families were unable to pay tuition,” she said. “So, we had to find donors.”

She got lists, wrote grant requests and sent solicitations.

“I felt pressure and would come home frustrated and down-spirited,” she said. “What allowed me to hang in there was my family’s support, my connection to Catholic schools and God.”

In December, 2016, a breakthrough occurred. Olsen met with two men she calls “angels.”  They wanted to help the poorest Catholic school in San Diego, which led them to St. Rita’s.

On December 20, 2016, Olsen gathered school employees — who had been working over two years with substantially reduced salaries — and announced that “angels from God” donated enough funds for Christmas bonuses.

“It was emotional for everyone,” she recalled. “Many were crying and, yes, I had tears.”

In 2017, the angels (who requested anonymity) attracted other donors, which enabled the school to finally return employees to normal salaries, cover tuition for needy students, acquire improvements, such as technology for students and teachers, and offer new courses, including art and music.

In addition, millions of dollars were raised for campus improvements, such as a basketball court, soccer field, playground and studio classroom.

St. Rita’s is no longer at risk of closing, although it continues to rely upon belt-tightening and fundraising.

“This turnaround means opportunity for many children and hope for the entire community,” Olsen said. “As one of our angels said, we are now the Four Corners of Hope.”

About this series

Goldsmith is a Union-Tribune contributing columnist.

We welcome reader suggestions of people who have done something extraordinary or otherwise educational, inspiring or interesting and who have not received much previous media. Please send suggestions to Jan Goldsmith at jgsandiego@yahoo.com