PUBLISHED BY MOSHOLU PRESERVATION CORPORATION

Local Catholic Schools Safe for Now
Financial Pressures Remain an Issue

By HEATHER HADDON

For now, local parents can rest assured that area Catholic schools will not suffer the same fate as dozens of Brooklyn and Queens institutions that will close this year. But many northwest Bronx schools, reflecting a citywide trend, are struggling to stay financially afloat and keep classrooms full.

“Numbers are down everywhere,” said Patricia Gatti, principal of St. Brendan’s School on East 207th Street. “We’re all feeling it.”

The Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees Brooklyn and Queens parochial schools, announced two weeks ago that it will close 26 elementary schools with low enrollment. Diocesan officials said rising operating costs and changing demographics prompted the difficult decision.

Many local parents were alarmed by the news. “It brought back flashbacks,” said Serena Muñiz, 29, whose daughter attends St. Philip Neri on the Grand Concourse. Muñiz was a 10th grader at St. Nicholas of Tolentine’s high school, located on Andrews Avenue, when it closed in 1990.

“I remember being really affected emotionally,” she said. “I really had an attachment to my school.”

The New York Archdiocese — which manages schools in the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, and the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester — has no immediate plans to close any of the Bronx’ 79 schools. The Archdiocese does, however, continuously look for enrollment shifts, according to Nora Murphy, a spokesperson.

“Obviously, there have been some changes,” said Murphy, who grew up in the Fordham area. “But these schools are still part of thriving communities.” Murphy thought that fluctuations in Bronx registration were less drastic compared to other boroughs.

Many local schools said they had witnessed some decrease in enrollment over the past few years. Our Lady of Refuge School (OLR), on 196th Street, had to cancel its pre-kindergarten program last year after only 16 families signed up.

“We are hoping to reinstate it this year,” said Monsignor John Jenik, the church’s pastor. To increase numbers, OLR and other local schools conducted more extensive advertising campaigns this year.

Our Lady of Mercy School no longer uses an entire wing of its Marion Avenue building, and instead, a public high school will take root there this fall. “They have downsized,” Murphy said.

While maintaining a “healthy” enrollment, as Gatti put it, classroom sizes have shrunk over the years at St. Brendan’s. “Gone are the days when there were 40 kids in class,” said Gatti, whose classrooms now average around 30 students. “That’s a significant drop.”

Remaining financially stable is a struggle even for schools that have not experienced enrollment declines. “The cost to educate a student is much higher than the tuition,” said Anna Ramos, who oversees fund raising at the Academy of Mount St. Ursula on Bedford Park Boulevard. Tuition rates at the Academy are $5,300, but Ramos estimates that it costs over $8,000 to educate a student. Grants, alumni contributions, and fund-raisers supplement that gap.

Few elementary schools are lucky enough to have full-time fund-raisers, and instead rely more heavily on parent contributions and in-school fund-raisers. Tolentine, which is seeking grants for capital improvements, started a parent and alumni board in 2003 to help in that regard. St. Brendan’s teamed up with area public schools to apply for federal funding under the No Child Left Behind Act. The Archdiocese also provides some assistance to struggling schools.

But as tuitions rise, parents can’t always keep up. “It’s very difficult,” said Muñiz, who works in marketing. “But you think, at the end of the day, there is more stability and discipline at parochial schools.”

Like Muñiz, many parents who attended Catholic schools when they were young want the same experience for their children. St. Brendan’s has also seen an influx of new immigrants, primarily from Albania, according to Gatti.

But given economic pressures and cultural changes, that seamless transition to parochial schools is no longer a given. “There was a period when people automatically sent their children to Catholic schools,” said Murphy, who contends that many still do.

While the pressures to stay competitive are intense, most local schools seemed confident they would persevere. “We’ll probably all see smaller enrollments,” said Gatti, speaking about local parochial schools. “That’s just a reality. But we can all adjust to it.”

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