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NEWTON - Eighteen months after the startling news that HebrewCollege planned to sell its celebrated campus to retire $32.1million in mortgage debt, its leaders say the school has regainedits financial footing and will now stay put. Rabbi Daniel L. Lehmann, the president of Hebrew College, said theschool is in the final phase of renegotiating its loan in a complexdeal that will reduce the institution"s debt to $7.4 million. The school also has chopped its operating budget nearly in halfover the past four years. But by focusing almost exclusively onadministrative cuts, Lehmann said, its academic programs havesurvived almost intact. The deal means Hebrew College can keep its building - a modern,light-drenched structure designed by renowned Israeli architectMoshe Safdie - and focus on improving its blend of youth,community, and graduate education offerings. "It means a new lease on life,"" said Lehmann,who plans a formal announcement of the newfound stability at theschool"s 90th anniversary gala Wednesday evening. "Hereis an institution which is the only institution of its kind in NewEngland."" Hebrew College is Boston"s largest and most comprehensiveinstitution for community Jewish education and home to thearea"s only rabbinical school. It was founded in Roxbury andmoved to Brookline before settling in Newton Centre in 2001. The school educates about 600 in its community programs, whichallow adults to learn about Judaism. More than 500 students areenrolled in its after-school and weekend programs for middle- andhigh-schoolers, and about 250 graduate students study at thecollege, including about 50 in the rabbinical school. Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at BrandeisUniversity and an alumnus and donor, said a forced sale"would have been a symbol of failure for the Boston Jewishcommunity, one which I was quite uncomfortable with. "The fact that it will remain is, I think, a symbol that thecommunity remains committed to high-level Jewish education, and toa sense that Jewish education can occur in this kind of impressivelocation and building that had been specially built forit,"" he said. But Lehmann said the college, like many other institutions, haslearned a painful lesson about tempering ambition with budgetaryrealism. "It has to be very, very careful and responsible andsustainable,"" said Lehmann, who replaced theschool"s previous leader, David Gordis, just months beforethe 2008 economic meltdown. "Part of our problem is we gotahead of ourselves. There is a natural desire for growth, but ithas to be growth you can afford."" Lehmann said when the college went on the market early last year,the building drew only limited interest in a deflated real estatemarket. At the price the building was likely to fetch, he said,Hebrew College"s leaders felt they could try to jump in andrefinance. The bond insurer agreed to work with the college on aplan. The deal, which is likely to close within days, required somesacrifice all around, Lehmann said. The bond insurer lost somemoney; Hebrew College agreed to raise $3 million in equity; andCombined Jewish Philanthropies, a major supporter of Hebrew Collegeand the guarantor of its original mortgage loan, must pay $5.2million of the debt in the coming years. But Barry Shrage, president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies,which continues to contribute $1.5 million to the college each yearto support its educational mission, said Hebrew College has agreedto try to pay his organization back over time. Shrage described the college"s current leadership as"terrifically on the ball."" The institution"s recovered financial stability, he said,will allow it to refocus its energies on programs like Prozdor, thewidely respected supplemental school for Jewish teens, whichrecently received an injection of youthful new leadership, andMe"ah, an adult education program that Shrage described as"the best shot any community ever had at universal adultJewish literacy."" "I believe this will put us back on target for significantnew expansion in those areas,"" Shrage said. The college has recently created two new programs on parenting"through a Jewish lens"" and another for youngadults. When facing the prospect of homelessness, Hebrew College hadarranged to lease space from neighboring Andover Newton TheologicalSchool. The Rev. Nick Carter, president of Andover Newton, said the changeof plans was welcome news. The two institutions work closely oninterfaith efforts, such as developing a new certificate program ininterfaith leadership. "In terms of things that are going to make Hebrew Collegestrong and actually support our exploration into interreligiousleadership education, it"s far more important that they havea permanent home,"" he said. David Micley is the third generation of his family to work atHebrew College; his grandparents met there, and his mother trainsteachers in the Prozdor program for teens, where Micley is nowdirector of recruitment and admissions. "I know for a lot of people who work here, it felt like aghost hanging over everybody"s head,"" he said ofthe onetime threat of having to move. "To have that not be aconcern and to focus on programming . . . is definitelyinvigorating."" Try BostonGlobe.com today and get two weeks FREE. Lisa Wangsness can be reached at . 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