But like any amputations undertaken to survive, the cost has been high: The new closings come on top of shuttering 26 elementary schools and four high schools in 2011. Under Edward Cardinal Egan, 37 schools were closed between 2000 and 2009.
The church is also fighting for about $30 million that it says it is owed by Albany in reimbursements for certain state requirements, such as administering state tests and reporting student data.
Two dozen Roman Catholic schools in New York learned Tuesday they would permanently shut their doors at the end of the school year, in what the church said it hopes is the last round of closings for the foreseeable future.
A version of this article appeared January 23, 2013, on page A17 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: 24 Catholic Schools to Close.
Enrollment had llen to 234 students this year, from a peak of around 450, she said. Still,aduedu4316.typepad.com. generations of alumni had returned in recent weeks to offer support.
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Im just completely devastated because the teachers know us, this is a good school, and we feel safe here, said Lisa Colon, 41 years old, as she dropped off her 5-year-old son at Holy Spirit School in the Bronx, which is slated to close. For me to go somewhere else is completely unacceptable.
The announcement is the latest blow to an educational network that has been reeling from dwindling enrollment in recent years, even as it maintains enviable academic standards. The closings have been planned for years as part of a massive restructuring intended to stabilize the remaining Archdiocese schools and make the system sustainable for future generations.
We have a game plan where we can hold the line and sustain these schools going forward, he said. Can we give absolute guarantees? No.
Theyre going to leave a lot of parents struggling, she added.
Write to Lisa Fleisher at lisa. and Sophia Hollander at sophia.
A student exits the Holy Cross school in Manhattan in New York Tuesday.
The Catholic-school closures are similar to those undertaken in suburban towns wrestling with under-enrollmentbut very different from school closures conducted by New York City for poor academic performance. Students at Catholic elementary schools routinely exceed the New York state averages in English and math tests.
In addition to closings, the church is also pursuing new revenue strategies, officials said. The Archdiocese estimates it will raise about $20 million annually by introducing a new tax on parishes and selling old school buildings to build an endowment,aduedu2941.typepad.com. or renting them out.
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Families werent the only ones seeking answers. Overall, 327 teachers will be affected by the closings. They will be given priority hiring as new positions open up in accordance with the union contract, said an archdiocese spokeswoman.
Archdiocese Alters Course on Schools
Mr. McNiff said he hopes this will stem the seemingly endless announcements of Catholic school closures.
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The future for three other schools remains up in the air, including two on superstorm Sandy-ravaged Staten Island that need extra time to assess their needs. The future of St. Barnabas High School in the Bronx is also under discussion, he said. Four schools that were on a potential list for closure released in November will stay open, Mr. McNiff said.
The closings were part of a multiyear plan to reorganize the Archdioceses educational system, which will be left with 173 elementary schools and 48 high schools next year. The strategy relies on grouping schools into a series of districts; taxing parishes to support schools; and selling or leasing school real estate. It also included a final consolidation intended to whittle down the number of schools to a solid base.
Whatever the milys needs are, we will be there to help them with it, he said.
Mr. McNiff said counselors would help milies find new Catholic schools, including offering transportation assistance and financial aid if necessary. Field trips will be arranged so prospective students can shadow other students to get a feel for a school, he said.
I am very upset by the decision, said Sister Mary Cleary, who served as principal of Our Lady of Angels School in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx for 27 years. She said the schoolwhich opened in 1928had raised $237,000 from alumni and parents,Obituary: Alison E. Irving? oulton hues. including a recent $100,000 gift.
The Archdiocese of New York will close 22 elementary schools throughouArchdiocese to Close 24 Catholic Schools nyc high school rankingt its jurisdiction, which includes Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and seven other counties. The closures will affect more than 4,300 students, or about 9% of the elementary schools enrollment. Two high schools with 424 students will also be closed, officials said.
Its sad. My son has been in this school seven years, said Mr. Gutierrez. I dont want it to close.
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Still, the decision came as a shock to some schools. Many had been scrambling to raise funds and develop plans to prove they could remain viable.
In upper Manhattan, parent Gary Gutierrez dropped his three children off at Annunciation School on Tuesday.
People oppose high taxes for liberty. Do you think they would oppose it with the same fervor if our president, with Congress, declared his birthday a national holiday giving everybody one more three-day weekend?
Archdiocese officials are pushing for Albany to pass a voucher-like program that would allow businesses to get tax credits for providing scholarships for students that could be used at parochial schools. States such as Florida and Pennsylvania have successfully used that kind of program, while a similar bill supported by Gov. Chris Christie has been blocked in New Jersey.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Tuesday approved the New York PArchdiocese to Close 24 Catholic Schools nyc high school ranking,ublic Librarys application for minor changes to the exterior of its landmark Fifth Avenue building.
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Mr. McNiff said the closures are necessary for the long-term viability of the school system, which saw enrollment decline by more than 25,000 students since 2003.
We have a game plan that can work and that will be successful, Mr. McNiff said. And if we work it, were not going to be closing schools going forward.
Greater New York may finally have something to show for the current bone-chilling cold snap: significant snows are in the forecast.
That was little consolation for parents who received the news Tuesday morning.
Its painful to go through this exercise, said Timothy McNiff, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York. These parents love these schools, and its hard to have to tell them that 100 years of tradition at that community is now not going to [continue].
We had really worked very hard on the plan and hard on our fundraising, said Sister Cleary, who said she was informed of the decision Tuesday morning. It took us a little by surprise that we were not going to be allowed to remain open.
Do we need religion to have ethics? Is it possible that a world without religion can be, on the whole, a better place to live?
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