June 10, 2008

GREENPOINT SCHOOL PREPARES TO CLOSE

St. Cecilia’s School in Greenpoint will graduate its last class this month and will not reopen in the fall, citing serious financial deficits and declining enrollment numbers, the parish has announced.

In a letter to parents, Father James J. Krische, the pastor, said the school will need an infusion of $398,378 in diocesan funds to meet present and past obligations through Aug. 31, the official close of the school year.

“The Diocese will not be able to continue its subsidy to the school for the coming year,” he said.

Earlier, it was estimated that $210,845 would be needed by the end of the school year, but a later review of the school’s fiscal obligations raised the indebtedness to nearly $400,000. It had been believed that the school could continue for another year, but the additional financial burden worked against that possibility.

Underscoring the seriousness of the fiscal issues, the pastor added that over the past four years the parish has received subsidies from the Diocese totaling more than $275,000 in order to maintain its pastoral services.

If the school had continued to operate for another year, the projected diocesan subsidy would have been in excess of $400,000.

Concerns about student enrollment increased the school’s vulnerability. At the time of his letter, May 13, Father Krische said St. Cecilia’s School had re-registered 107 students for the fall. The school year opened last September with 249 students. Five years ago the enrollment was 341 students and ten years ago 479.

Given the financial and enrollment data, “it is extremely difficult” for the school to remain open, he wrote.

Father Krische told the parents to “be assured” that a seat awaits any child they wish to place in a Catholic school. He listed four nearby schools that would welcome the students: St. Nicholas, Northside Academy and SS. Joseph and Dominic Catholic Academy in Williamsburg and St. Stanislaus Kostka in Greenpoint.

St. Cecilia’s School re-registration enrollment included about 50 special-needs children, who are bused to the school. It is expected that they will be accommodated at either St. Nicholas School or the Catherine Laboure Program in the former SS. Simon and Jude School building in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn.

The names of the faculty members of St. Cecilia’s School will be placed on a priority list maintained by the diocesan Office of Catholic School Support Services for openings that will arise at other parochial schools for the next academic year.

In his letter to parents, Father Krische wrote: “It is sad when a school whose history dates back to 1891 must conclude its contribution to Catholic education. But I believe the factors delineated here explain the serious issues that resulted in this decision.”

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6/10/08