School to close Elm Rd. campus

A $1 million addition to Queen of All Saints is planned for next year.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- To cut costs in a time of declining enrollment, the Queen of Peace campus of Notre Dame School will close at the end of this school year.
Queen of Peace, which enrolls 185 pupils in grades five through eight and is located at 261 Elm Road N.E., was formerly known as St. Mary's School.
Beginning next school year, seventh- and eighth-graders will be housed in a junior high school wing at John F. Kennedy High School. A meeting of sixth- and seventh-grade parents will be at 7 p.m. Thursday in the JFK cafeteria.
Fifth- and sixth-graders will be housed on the two other Notre Dame School campuses, which will contain pre-school through sixth grade: Queen of All Saints (formerly Blessed Sacrament School), 3000 Reeves Road N.E.; and Queen of Apostles (formerly St. Pius School), 1461 Moncrest Drive N.W. They are now buildings for preschool through the fourth grade.
To house some of the relocated pupils, a $1 million expansion is planned at the Reeves Road building. Fund raising is under way for the addition, which is to be ready for occupancy at the beginning of next school year.
Financial situation
According to a Notre Dame School newsletter, school trustees, meeting on Oct. 11, unanimously approved closing the Queen of Peace building at the end of this school year.
In doing so, they accepted a recommendation from a task force established by Bishop Thomas Tobin that had been studying Roman Catholic school operations in the Warren area.
"While the closing of a building with such rich history brings mixed emotions, it is vitally important that we take action to make sure that we remain fiscally sound while maintaining an excellent program for all our students," Kathleen Victor, Queen of Peace principal, wrote in an Oct. 26 newsletter, which announced the trustees' decision to parents.
"The numbers [of pupils] are getting smaller all the time, and we just don't have money to put into the building," said Mike Rounsley of Warren, who attends St. Mary's Parish and whose daughter, Chelsea, is a seventh-grader at Queen of Peace. "The numbers are also down at Kennedy, so financially, I think it was probably a pretty good idea," he said of the consolidation. "I don't think they really had a whole lot of options here," he said.
Closing the building is a good idea, said Mary Jane Markovich of Warren, whose son, Jonathan, is a sixth- grader at Queen of Peace. "If they're going to do this so that we can continue with the Catholic education, keeping the kids in the parochial schools, then that's great," she said.
Plans for building
The Rev. Bernard Schmalzried, pastor of St. Mary's Parish, which owns the Queen of Peace building and subsidizes Notre Dame School, said the parish council has decided to try to sell the school building.
If that can't be accomplished in a reasonable time, parish council wants to consider leasing space within the school building to pay for its utility and maintenance costs and using the building for parish meetings.
The original part of the Queen of Peace building dates back to the mid-1920s. It was St. Mary's High School before JFK was built and later became St. Mary's Middle School.
"Because of the tradition and the parish's identity with it, we feel bad about it," Father Schmalzried said of the closing. He added, however, "We have to do whatever is educationally best for the children, and we have to keep the system viable."
Victor referred questions to Dr. Michael Skube, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Youngstown, who could not be reached for comment. Diocesan offices were closed Tuesday because it was All Saints Day.
milliken@vindy.com