Moreau Catholic High School, Hayward | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I can’t speak for the quality of education or value, but I will speak from my personal experience as a disabled artist being robbed by MCHS’ administration.

I was hired to design for a theatre production last fall, and have nothing but good things to say about the kids and the artistic/production staff I worked with. The kids went into a live play with Covid protocols, and they handled it better than many of my other educational theatre productions would have.

I was contacted by a staff member in September regarding my suitability for the design position, and after we’d gone through the interview, an offer was made for a flat rate payment. This is entirely typical for designers, as we both pay our own taxes and largely set our own schedules based on the work that needs to be accomplished in a given time.

I entered the production process in good faith, as I have for hundreds of previous shows. The MCHS staff I worked directly with were lovely and supportive, and I assumed all the agreements would be honored. Throughout the process, I had never been offered a written contract, but as noted, went ahead in good faith. This wasn’t the first project where papework had temporarily fallen through the cracks.

A week after the work had been completed and the show opened, I was finally emailed a draft copy of the contract. On “strike,” the final day of the production, I was given a paper copy to sign. Everything looked mostly as agreed from September.

My paycheck, however, was short by 15%. The school was not authorized to withhold taxes, and I am still owed the balance. I also sent a rental bill for equipment I’d arranged for the production, and was flatly refused payment. This was an educational discount of roughly 60%, and I was basically told to screw myself. I was very clear from day one that I have a disability, and my design work helped pick up the slack from what SSDI covers. MCHS knew this, and cheated me anyway. MCHS owes me $3005 in rental fees for my equipment. Matt Duke, MCHS’ Director of Finance simply stopped communicating when I asked to be treated with common courtesy. I’d mistakenly assumed that a Catholic school might try to demonstrate a degree of professional ethics, but I learned my lesson.

I’m under no illusion that the school will honor its financial obligations, but I can at least make sure the issue is presented to the public in this forum. I haven’t made a decision on legal action at this time.

Very pleased with the school. Responsive, professional, thoughtful and dedicated teachers, counselors and administrators. Work with students of different learning patterns and strive for each student to be successful.