Plan to save schools

Sunday, August 20, 2006 By HAROLD GWIN VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER YOUNGSTOWN — Leaders from the Diocese of Youngstown believe that providing financial aid, adding educational programs and pointing out the advantage of a Catholic education will keep enrollments up in its schools. Six diocesan schools, all in Youngstown, closed over the past 10-12 years. As the population of those parishes decreased, so did the need for the schools, said Dr. Michael Skube, diocesan schools superintendent. The list includes St. Brendan, St. Dominic, St. Edward, St. Anthony and, last year, St. Matthias and Immaculate Conception. Today, only St. Christine Elementary School remains in the city. When St. Edward closed three years ago, only 10 percent of its pupils were St. Edward parishioners, Skube said. All the schools that closed were "on the borderline," he said, in terms of the pupil population needed for them to remain viable entities. Their decline in numbers corresponded with the move of people out of Youngstown, he said. The bottom line is that there are just fewer pupils available as a parish population declines, he said. None of the remaining 20 diocesan schools in Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties is regarded as borderline at this point, he said, though there was some concern about Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary School in Niles last year. However, that school is opening this fall, Skube said. The diocesan schools are doing fine overall, he said. The pupil population in all diocesan schools across Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Stark, Portage and Ashtabula counties stood at 10,868 last year, including more than 700 children in preschool programs. "The trend is down," Skube said, noting that the number is expected to decline somewhat this year, though he had no estimate on how significant that drop might be. Compounding the population shift is the local economy, Skube said, pointing out that many families with children in area Catholic schools are Delphi Packard Electric people who are being forced to reassess their priorities as that company cuts back. Finding the money to pay elementary and secondary tuition will be more difficult, he said. Tuition and aid Each schools sets its own tuition rates, and cost for parishioners ranged from between $1,300 and $2,300 per year for elementary pupils across the tri-county area. High school tuition was between $5,000 and $5,900. Nonparishioners had to pay between $800 and $1,800 more for elementary pupils. High school rates for nonparishioners were only slightly higher. To combat that problem, the diocese is looking at increasing financial aid programs to aid parents, Skube said. For example, the Notre Dame School in Warren has put $40,000 into new scholarships this year, basing its awards on financial need. There is also the new Covelli Scholarship, a $100,000 fund targeting elementary schools in Warren, Niles and Newton Falls that serve as feeder schools to John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Skube said. Some families are receiving $3,000 or more in support, he said. Catholic schools are also adding more preschool programs to attract younger pupils, some as young as age 3, he said. Stressing the advantages of the academic and spiritual focuses of a Catholic education is also helping to draw pupils, Skube said. Between 97 percent and 99 percent of diocesan high school graduates go on to post-high school education or training, he said. There is other positive news in the diocese. Skube said that Notre Dame School's Queen of All Saints Building in Warren is adding six classrooms, a gymnasium and other space in a $2 million project nearing completion. Part of that project is designed to take in pupils from Notre Dame's Queen of Peace Building, which closed last year as a factor of the age of the building, not a decline in pupil population, he said. Ohio's school voucher program, billed as Education Choice, has resulted in some public school pupils' moving into the Catholic schools in search of a better education, Skube said. The Notre Dame School alone picked up 22 pupils in that category for this year, he said. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently renewed its commitment to Catholic school education, and that commitment includes the six dioceses in Ohio, Skube said. All have a strong commitment to schools as being essential parts of their parishes and dioceses, Skube said. gwin@vindy.com