Pictured, is St. Patrick Church in Owego, N.Y. The school, because of finances and declining enrollment, is slated to close in June. (Photo from St. Patrick School website)
According to a report in the Catholic Courier, as well as local reports, it was announced that St. Patrick School in Owego, N.Y. will close in June due to declining enrollment and mounting financial pressures. That announcement, according to the Catholic Courier, was made by Bishop Salvatore R. Matano on March 20.
The report also cited a letter to the parents of St. Patrick’s students, in which Bishop Matano stated it was “with great sadness” that he had accepted the closure recommendation from the school’s leadership and Blessed Trinity/St. Patrick parishes.
“At the same time, I am both very grateful and deeply impressed by the extraordinary efforts of both the parish and school communities which contributed to the school’s 150 year history of Catholic education,” he wrote. “Unfortunately a pattern of declining enrollment, coupled with increased costs and serious, mounting and unsustainable financial strains upon the parish, has necessitated this decision.”
According to the report, St. Patrick School has been the only Catholic School in Tioga County for more than a quarter century.
The main reason for financial troubles, recorded in previous Owego Pennysaver reports, is declining enrollment. A letter was sent out in January to families enrolled that the school was at risk, and that approximately $500,000 was needed to keep the school running.
Upon learning of the school’s precarious financial situation, a group of parents launched an effort to raise the $500,000 needed to keep the school open beyond the current year. But the parents were unable to raise the necessary funds by a March 15 deadline, Smith was quoted as stating to the Catholic Courier on March 16.
In previous years, parish reserves had helped offset the school’s financial deficits, but this time the parish was projected to deplete its savings at the end of the 2014-15 school year, according to the Catholic Courier.
The Catholic Courier further reported that in a March 20 press release from the diocese, it was noted that only 58 students are enrolled in grades kindergarten through 6 this academic year, and that further enrollment decline was projected.
Strong enrollment history is the greatest indication of a school’s success and stability into the future, Bishop Matano noted in his March 20 letter to St. Patrick school families.
To read the entire article in the Catholic Courier, visit www.catholiccourier.com/news/local-news/st-patrick-school-in-owego-to-close/#sthash.4kyEYI1I.dpuf.
