{"id":40409,"date":"2015-02-01T02:48:04","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T02:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=40409"},"modified":"2015-02-01T02:48:04","modified_gmt":"2015-02-01T02:48:04","slug":"future-of-st-patrick-school-in-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/02\/01\/future-of-st-patrick-school-in-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Future of St. Patrick School in question"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Future<\/a>

St. Patrick School, located at 309 Front St. in Owego, N.Y., was originally established in 1859 and is housed in the historic Stanbrough Mansion along with a modern two-story addition.\u00a0Families who have children attending the school were recently informed that the future of the school is in serious\u00a0jeopardy.\u00a0(Photo by JoAnn R. Walter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Families who have children attending St. Patrick School, located at 309 Front St. in Owego, N.Y. were recently notified that the future of the school is in serious jeopardy.<\/p>\n

A letter dated Jan. 13, 2015, signed by Pastoral Administrator, Reverend Thomas J. Valenti and Principal Paula K. Smith, informed families and the community that a recommendation was made to Reverend Salvatore Matano, Bishop of Rochester, and Anthony Cook, Superintendent of Schools, to \u201cconsider the dire financial status of the parish and school.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter expresses thanks for generous donations, which allowed operation for the 2014-15 school year, and also states, \u201cThe amount raised is not enough to ensure long-term viability of the school.\u201d Within the letter, a previous determination in November 2013 is mentioned, which states that the parish could no longer help subsidize St. Patrick School. Fundraising and enrollment goals were set, however enrollment objectives were not met.<\/p>\n

Doug Mandelaro, communications director for the Diocese of Rochester Department of Catholic Schools, stated, \u201cNo decision has been made yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandelaro shared that individuals within the Diocese leadership, the Parish and the school are working to determine the best course of action. \u201cThis is a serious decision and the last resort would be to close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Mandelaro, 13 schools within the Rochester Diocese were closed in 2008 and a total of 15 to 20 schools have been closed within the past 25 years. Today, 22 schools remain open. The National Catholic Education Association shared publicly that 2,090 Catholic schools throughout the United States have closed or consolidated between the years 2000 and 2013 and enrollment declined nearly 25 percent.<\/p>\n

Regarding St. Patrick School, Mandelaro stated, \u201cSt. Patrick has approximately 83 students this year in grades Pre-K to six, where last year it was 91.\u201d The difference of eight or nine students is a significant loss of tuition revenue.<\/p>\n

Kindergarten registration, which traditionally occurs in early February for the next school year, will not take place, nor will any other enrollments, until a final decision is made about the future for St. Patrick School. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to extend false hopes,\u201d said Mandelaro.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, families of students attending St. Patrick School have been asked to participate in a fundraising effort to recruit major benefactors. To prevent closure, a communication sent to families explained that an amount in excess of $300,000 needed to be secured.<\/p>\n

St. Patrick School was established in 1859 and is housed in the historic Stanbrough Mansion, along with a modern two-story addition that has six classrooms. A faith-based school, St. Patrick School serves both Catholic and non-Catholic students.<\/p>\n

Owego residents, Brian and Sue Samuelson, have a child currently attending St. Patrick School and two older children who attended the school as well. The Samuelson\u2019s are concerned that if St. Patrick School closes, there would be one less choice for parents to consider sending their children.<\/p>\n

As parents of a child diagnosed with autism, the positive impact their son has received by attending St. Patrick School combined with the public school relationship is immeasurable. The Samuelson\u2019s also shared that in difficult times like the floods of 2006 and 2011, resulted in students and staff putting their faith in action through serving the community, a trait that the entire St. Patrick School community has shared for decades.<\/p>\n

Tessie Smith, of Newark Valley, has two children who attend St. Patrick School. \u201cWe value the education St. Patrick School provides,\u201d she said, \u201cIt would be sad to see it close.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Families who have children attending St. Patrick School, located at 309 Front St. in Owego, N.Y. were recently notified that the future of the school…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFuture of St. Patrick School in question - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/02\/01\/future-of-st-patrick-school-in-question\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Future of St. Patrick School in question - 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