Diocese of Youngstown to merge elementary schools

By Harold Gwin

A decline in enrollment is one of the key factors in the decision to consolidate.

AUSTINTOWN — The St. Joseph and Immaculate Heart of Mary elementary schools will be merged into a single school this fall.

Michael F. Skube, superintendent of the Youngstown diocese schools, said Monday that the parish councils and finance committees of the two churches recommended that the two schools be consolidated into one building for the 2009-10 school year and Bishop George V. Murry has approved the plan.

“This has been in the works for some time,” Skube said, noting that the diocese has excess pupil capacity.

Joint concerns of declining enrollment and rising costs were key factors in the consolidation recommendation, according to a letter sent to pupils’ parents and guardians by the pastors of both churches.

The pastors and principals of the two schools have been discussing enrollment, marketing and other concerns over the past three years, the letter said.

“Financially, we cannot operate schools with class sizes of nine, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 18 students,” the letter said, adding that the consolidation is seen as a “win-win solution” to ensuring a strong Catholic school presence in Austintown.

Enrollment at Immaculate Heart on Norquest Boulevard stands at 152 this year, down from 160 two years ago. At. St. Joseph on New Road, enrollment is 176, down from 238 two years ago.

St. Joseph was founded in 1966 and was the last new school built in the Youngstown diocese, said Principal John Rozzo, noting that the pupil enrollment at one time exceeded 250.

Immaculate Heart of Mary opened its doors in 1954, said Sister Ann Marie Boehnlein, principal. Enrollment there exceeded 400 at one point, she said.

Skube said a committee will be set up to look at both facilities and ongoing educational needs with the intent of determining which building will be closed. That committee will make a recommendation to the pastors and the diocese, he said.

There will also be a search for a new name for the combined school, Skube said.

Both parishes will share responsibility for supporting the school, and the home and school associations for each will be combined into a single group, he said.

The curriculum for the two schools, which serve children in kindergarten through the eighth grade, is the same, but textbooks may vary and that issue must be addressed with the teachers, he said.

The school change in Austintown isn’t unique to the diocese, Skube said, noting that there were some similar consolidations in Warren within the last three years in the Notre Dame schools in which the Our Lady of Peace building was closed and seventh- and eighth-graders later moved to John F. Kennedy.

St. James was another school that was closed about four years ago because of excess pupil capacity, he said.

The letter sent to parents and guardians said the consolidation represents a “proactive solution” and is an effort to take a positive step to address school issues while the parishes still have strength.

A consolidated school would be financially stronger and have a stronger enrollment, the letter said.

The parishes will conduct meetings with parents to discuss the impending change. The first is set for 7 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Center.

gwin@vindy.com