By Denise Richardson
Staff Writer
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ONEONTA _ The board of St. Mary's School has decided to close the 87-year-old school, but some parents are rallying to keep the doors open.
The Catholic school's board decided to recommend closing the school at the end of June because of declining enrollment, officials said, and it shared the decision with 25 to 30 parents Monday night. A recommendation may be considered by the governing Albany Diocesan School Board next month.
Parents were upset about the news, said Tifanne Wells, director of marketing for the school. On Tuesday, some parents started seeking commitments for enrollment, said Wells, an advertising sales executive at The Daily Star, and a meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. today to consider strategies to keep the school open.
Board member William Moon said the enrollment commitment needs to be 75 to 80 students. The future of the school rests with the parents, who will be supported by the board, he said.
"Struggling with enrollment and reaching a point were enrollment is not financially sustainable is the issue," Moon said Tuesday. The board decision was a matter of "resigned acceptance."
"It's a very emotional issue," Moon said.
St. Mary's School, founded in 1924, has about 50 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and about 50 children in preschool and the program for 3-year-olds, officials said, and non-Catholic children are enrolled.
The 10-year-old school on state Route 7 in the town of Oneonta has 52,000 square feet and was built to accommodate about 230 students. The previous school site, a building across from the church on Walnut Street in the city, is a parish center.
The Rev. Joseph Benintende, pastor of St. Mary's Church, said the school hasn't been able to recruit and retain new students.
"We've tried and tried and tried," he said Tuesday. The decision to close is a sad reality, he said, but not unique to the local community. St. Mary's Church in Oneonta owns the school property, and Benintende didn't know what would happen to the building if the school closed.
St. Mary's School has 14 full-time and nine part-time employees, ranging from teachers to custodians, officials said, and the school's debt is more than $2 million on the multimillion-dollar project.
Declining enrollment has been a factor in other local school closures. Elementary schools in Sidney Center and Masonville were closed in 2005 because of declining enrollment. The A.L. Kellogg Elementary School in Treadwell closed in 2007.
Catholic News Service reported this week that 27 Catholic schools in the New York Archdiocese will close at the end of the school year because of declining enrollment and rising costs.
Sister Jane Herb, superintendent of schools for the Albany Diocese, said any recommendation by the St. Mary's School board would be considered at a regular meeting of the Albany Diocesan School Board scheduled for Feb. 8.
About 7,200 students are enrolled in 25 schools in the diocese, she said Tuesday, and though enrollment continues to be challenging for many schools, no recommendations for closures are before the board.
Herb said she hopes that the school will explore all options before submitting a recommendation.
St. Mary's School has struggled for years with declining enrollment. The recommendation is the second time in as many years that the local board has proposed a plan to deal with declining enrollment, Benintende said Tuesday. Last year, the board proposed reducing the size of the school to serve preschool through second-grade pupils.
Parents "begged" the change not be made, and commitments were made to enroll children, but some pupils didn't return in September, officials said.
About 10 years ago, St. Mary's School enrolled 215 to 220 students, Moon said, and area districts represented by St. Mary's students have seen enrollment declines of at least 6 percent in the past six years.
St. Mary's had 149 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 6 in 2006-07. Previously, the school also had seventh and eighth grades.
Principal Patricia Bliss was in a meeting Tuesday, and a call to her office was referred to the Albany Diocese.
Reasons parents decide not to enroll their children vary, Moon said, commissioner of social services in Delaware County, and considerations include paying tuition when public schools are free, the recession and limited access to competitive athletic programs.
The pending recommendation to close was based more on enrollment than finances; however, the school is drawing on an endowment to meet operating expenses, Wells said.
Last year, the future of the school was raised, and parents rallied with commitments to enroll their children, Wells said. However, between last academic year and this year, only 10 of 15 second-graders enrolled in the third grade, she said.
Tuition for kindergarten through sixth grade ranges from $1,735 to $4,000 based on income, according to the school's website, and scholarships and tuition assistance are available. The school building also houses before- and after-school programs.
The school is under the regulation of the Diocese of Albany Catholic School Office. The pastor is in charge of the school and delegates the daily operation of the facility to the principal.
Moon said overtures have been made to other local Christian schools about possible collaboration.
"The school is very important," Moon said. "It will be a tremendous loss to the community if it has to close."
