Montville ― A group of St. Bernard alumni is one step closer to purchasing the school property.

With a mission to keep St. Bernard School open and ensure its future, Saints Country, LLC has said in a letter sent to the St. Bernard community that it received verbal notice from the diocese’s that it’s $6.2 million offer to buy the property is being recommended to the federal bankruptcy court and creditors.

The news comes more than a month after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich unveiled its plan to sell St. Bernard School in Montville and the 113 acres of land it sits on to help fund its proposed bankruptcy plan.

The diocese filed a bankruptcy plan in January in federal court that calls for approximately $29 million to be distributed to as many as 142 people who allege they have been sexually assaulted by priests and other diocesan employees.

Jeffrey Londregan, a member of St. Bernard’s Class of 1989, is one of about 10 alumni who came together to form Saints Country, LLC last month. He said the group found out about a week and a half ago that it was the recommended buyer, and he received the written purchase and sale contract in an email this past weekend.

“We’ve been provided with a written purchase and sale contract for the acquisition and we are cautiously optimistic that we are going to be able to save the school,“ Londregan said Monday.

Londregan said the LLC’s bankruptcy attorney, Richard Zeisler, called the offer a “stalking horse offer,” which sets the market for other potential buyers to make offers.

While he is hopeful that the offer is approved by the bankruptcy court, Londregan said there will be a grace period of 45 to 60 days where other offers, potentially for more money, can be submitted for consideration.

“Our offer is the preferred offer for the purposes that the bankruptcy committee wants to bring it forward,” Londregan said.

Stephen Kindseth is one of the attorneys representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents the 142 victims. He said in an email Monday that the committee has not made any recommendations, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, on who the buyer should be.

“The Committee continues to evaluate what transaction would be in the best interest of the creditors of the Diocese including the many survivors of child sexual abuse who have asserted claims against the Diocese,” Kindseth said. “At this point, the Diocese and its counsel have not shared with us, as counsel to the Committee, enough information concerning Saints County, LLC and its proposed transaction with the Diocese for the Committee to take any position.”

The committee is expected to soon file its own bankruptcy plan for consideration by Judge James Trancredi. It is unknown if that plan will include the offer by Saints Country LLC to buy the school property or if the committee will seek a better offer.

The Diocese of Norwich did not provide a comment on the offer by Saints Country LLC on Monday.

Saints Country, LLC is getting a helping hand from another member of the St. Bernard community.

The James Greenleaf Memorial Scholarship Fund, Inc. has offered to serve as the fiscal sponsor for Saints Country, LLC. The fund, which was founded after St. Bernard alumnus James Greenleaf Jr. was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, said in the letter that it has “committed financial resources to to ensure the success of this fundraising initiative.”

The Greenleaf fund provides financial assistance to students attending St. Bernard School, and awards an annual scholarship to a graduating senior from Saint Bernard School to the college of their choice, as stated on its website.

Frank Marcille, president of the scholarship fund, said Monday that Saints Country, LLC had approached the fund’s board of directors and asked if the fund would stand as the fiscal sponsors, meaning, it would raise funds on behalf of the LLC to acquire the property.

“Our mission has always been to give students scholarships to attend St. Bernard,” Marcille said Monday. “If there’s no school, there’s no scholarship, so we wanted to do what we can to help.”

Marcille described Greenleaf as a “giving person” who thought about others first.

“This would definitely be something he would be in favor of,” Marcille said of the fundraising effort.

Londregan explained that a benefit of working with the scholarship fund, a non-profit organization, to raise money is that all donations are tax deductible. Saints Country, LLC is not designated as a non-profit.

The Saints Country letter to the St. Bernard community indicates any funds raised in excess of the purchase price would go to the school’s endowment so it could continue to operate. The letter was signed by Londregan and Marcille, as well as Scholarship Committee Chair and school alumnus Art Lamoureux and Kyle Klewin, a Class of 1995 alumnus.

“We are committed to purchasing (the school) for $6.2 million, but we need all the assistance and help from the alumni and friends to achieve the long-term goals of having the school survive for generations to come,” Londregan said.

k.arnold@theday.com