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Families study options as Austintown Catholic school nears closure
By Robert Connelly
AUSTINTOWN
While few families attended an informational open house Thursday night, school and diocese officials said many families have reached out for information on their own.
The open house in the cafeteria of the soon-to-be-closed St. Joseph/Immaculate Heart of Mary School had representation, principals and other staff from four of the five Catholic grade schools in the Lumen Christi system. That is the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown’s system for kindergarten through eighth grade. The only school not represented was St. Patrick in Hubbard, whose principal had a trip with the eighth-grade class.
Catherine Wigley, principal of St. Joseph/Immaculate Heart of Mary, said the school is planning fun for the remaining days of the school, including going to the Akron Zoo to see snow leopard cubs.
“I think it’s great my teachers are still wanting to do things,” she said.
The school is closing at the end of the school year, June 5, and there are 123 current students. Of those, 19 are graduating. A letter was sent to parents May 16 announcing the closing of the grade school at year’s end.
The 12 teachers of the grade school and Wigley haven’t been informed of what is next, but are all union members. Dr. Lois J. Cavucci, Lumen Christi president and CEO, said those employees will be discussed at their monthly principal meeting today.
Ryan and Melanie Bodine were among the few parents who came to seek more information Thursday night. Ryan Bodine said they have toured three of the schools — St. Christine in Youngstown, St. Charles in Boardman and St. Rose in Girard. Bodine’s son, Jacob, is currently in kindergarten. They hope to decide by mid-June where he will attend next year.
“He wants to go where his friends are going,” Ryan Bodine said. On the low turnout, Bodine admitted he was surprised, but said, “I think a lot of the parents have done what we did: toured the schools.”
Students also have been allowed to “shadow” current students at the other Catholic grade schools for three hours at a time. Wigley estimated 40 percent of her students have shadowed. Cavucci said all five of their grade schools have been contacted by interested parents.
Those schools are St. Christine, St. Charles, St. Patrick, Holy Family in Poland and St. Nicholas in Struthers. There will not be any class limits for the influx of SJ/IHM students to the other schools, Cavucci said.
Families of SJ/IHM students who stay within the Lumen Christi system next year will receive a $500 scholarship per child up to $1,000 per family. Wigley said an anonymous parishioner is giving $20,000 in tuition scholarships for students from SJ/IHM next year.
Also, if the new school’s tuition is higher than SJ/IHM’s, families will stay pay the SJ/IHM rate for the 2014-15 school year.