Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced how many schools will be closed Friday
Friday, Jan 6, 2012 | Updated 3:19 PM EST
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St. Michael the Archangel, Levittown , merges with Our Lady of Grace, Penndel at the Penndel site.
St. Mark, Bristol
Assumption BVM, Feasterville, merges with St. Bede the Venerable, Holland , at the Holland
Holy Trinity, Morrisville, merges with St. John the Evangelist, Lower Makefield, at the Lower Makefield site.
St. John the Baptist, Ottsville, merges with St. Isidore, Quakertown, at the Quakertown site.
Conwell Egan HS closes outright
St. Monica, Berwyn
St. Patrick, Kennett Square , merges with St. Cornelius, Chadds Ford, at the Chadds Ford site.
Annunication, Brookline
St. Cyril of Alexandria, East Lansdowne, merges with St. Andrew, Drexel Hill, at the Drexel Hill site.
Our Lady of Fatima, Secane, merges with Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Morton at the Morton site.
St. Gabriel, Norwood , merges with St. Madeline/St. Rose, Ridley Park , at the Ridley Park
St. John Chrysostom, Wallingford
St. Francis de Sales, Lenni, merges with St. Thomas the Apostle, Glen Mills, at the Glen Mills site.
Holy Savior-St. John Fisher, Linwood, merges withSt. Joseph
Holy Savior-St. John Fisher, Linwood, merges with
Msgr. Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast closes outright.
St. Anthony-St. Joseph, Ambler, St. Catherine of Siena, Horsham, merge with St. Alphonsus, Maple Glen, at the Maple Glen site.
Conshohocken Catholic, Conshohocken, merges with Mother Divine Providence, King of Prussia, at the King of Prussia site.
St. Teresa of Avila, Norristown , merges with Visitation BVM, Trooper, at the Trooper site.
Our Lady of Victory, East Norriton and St. Titus, East Norriton , merge with Epiphany of our Lord, Plymouth Meeting, at the Plymouth Meeting site.
Our Lady Help of Christians, Abington, merges with St. David, Willow Grove, at the Willow Grove site.
Immaculate Conception, Jenkintown, merges with St. Luke, Glenside, at the Glenside site.
St. Rose of Lima, North Wales, merges with St. Stanislaus, Lansdale, at the Lansdale site.
St. Maria Goretti, Hatfield, merges with Corpus Christi , Lansdale, at the Lansdale site.
Sacred Heart, Royersford, merges with St. Eleanor, Collegeville, at the Collegeville site.
St. Philip Neri, East Greenville , merges with St. Isidore, Quakertown (Bucks) at the Quakertown site.
Pope John Paul II Regional, Bridesburg, merges with St. Timothy at the Levick Street site.
St. George, Port Richmond, merges with Our Lady of Port Richmond at the Thompson Street site.
Holy Cross, Mt. Airy E. Chestnut Hill Ave. site.
St. Bridget, East Falls Hermitage Street site.
Incarnation of Our Lord, Olney, merges with St. Helena at the N. Fifth Street site.
Our Lady of Consolation, Tacony, merges with St. Matthew at the Cottman Avenue site.
Our Lady of Ransom merges with Resurrection of our Lord at the Shelmire Avenue site.
St. William merges with St. Cecilia at the Rhawn Street site.
St. Martin of Tours becomes a "mission school," with no change to the current school configuration.
St. Hubert High closes outright.
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament merges with St. Donato at the 65th Street site.
St. Laurentius merges with St. Peter the Apostle at the 5th Street site.
Annunciation merges with St. Nicholas of Tolentine at the Pierce Street site.
St. Gabriel merges with St. Thomas Aquinas at the Morris Street site.
St. Malachy merges with Visitation BVM at the Lehigh Avenue site.
Epiphany of our Lord, Holy Spirit, St. Richard, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and Sacred Heart merge at the former Stella Maris site.
Our Lady of Lourdes closed, students asked to select from Our Mother of Sorrows/St. Ignatius, St. Rose of Lima
West Catholic High closes outright.
111 comments:
Wow!
I wonder what the effect will be on enrollment at Grandview and MHS?
I would think it would increase but by how much??
Didn't a one time school board president tell us all how wonderful the parochial school system was and how Morrisville should imitate it?
Conwell-Egan, local Catholic elementary schools to close
James McGinnis Staff writer
Conwell-Egan will be one of four Archdiocesan high schools to close amid a restructuring of the Catholic School system.
The blue ribbon commission has also recommended closing five elementary schools in Bucks and six in Montgomery County.
They are:
St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown would be absorbed into Our Lady of Grace in Penndel.
Students at St. Mark in Bristol would go to St. Ephrem's in Bensalem.
Assumption BVM students in Lower Southampton would be sent to St. Bede the Venerable in Northampton.
Students at Holy Trinity in Morrisville would be sent to St. John the Evangelist in Lower Makefield.
Students at St. John the Baptist in Ottsville and St. Phillip Neri in East Greenville would be absorbed into St. Isidore of Quakertown.
St. Anthony-Joseph in Ambler would be merged into either St. Catherine of Siena in Horsham or St. Alphonsus in Maple Glen.
Students at Our Lady of Christians of Abington would go to St. David in Willow Grove.
Immaculate Conception of Jenkintown would be absorbed into St. Luke in Glenside.
St. Rose of Lima in North Wales would be absorbed into St. Stanislaus in Lansdale.
Students at St. Maria Goretti in Hatfield would go to Corpus Christi in Lansdale.
At Conwell-Egan, ninth-grader Nicholas Evans was looking forward to finishing up high school at Conwell-Egan, but with the news of it closure, he's not sure where he will head next.
"I really wanted to stay here," said the 14-year-old as he left the school Friday.
Nicholas said students were told during an assembly in the auditorium around noon.Some were surprised, others expected it.
Ryan Magee said he knew it even before the announcement was made. Teachers' faces said it all. Teachers were told at a separate meeting beforehand.
"Some of them were red from crying," Ryan said. "Their facial expressions were sad."
A blue ribbon panel has also recommended the closing of St. Hubert in Northeast Philadelphia, Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast in Drexel Hill and West Catholic in the city.
"The meeting just ended and they are definitely going to close those four high schools," said Irene Tori, vice president of the union for Catholic school teachers. "There were a lot of principals and pastors who were understandably very upset.
"People were asking, ‘Do I have any hope of having a job?'" said Tori. "They may not get an answer about their jobs until maybe sometime next week."
The plan for restructuring will also involve the closing of several elementary schools in place of regional schools similar to Holy Family Regional Catholic School in Middletown, said Tori.
Among those is Holy Trinity in Morrisville, said its pastor, Rev. John C. Eckert.
"We were totally blindsided. We thought we were doing everything right," Eckert said. "We have not really had any declining enrollment."
About 220 students attend Holy Trinity, the pastor said.
The commission is recommending the school merge with St. John the Evangelist School in Lower Makefield, he said.
Eckert questions how that can be done, since the Morrisville School District does not provide bus transportation and St. John's is about three miles away from Holy Trinity.
"I don't know if downtown knew that (before the commission made the recommendation)," he said.
The Holy Trinity pastor said the parish will appeal the recommended closing and he's asking for the community's help.
"Let’s just try to do our best to show why our school should not be closed. We have to rally together to show how much our school means to us," Eckert said.
Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput this morning sent a letter to administrators and teachers bracing them for expected layoffs in the school system.
"As an Archdiocese, we are going to do everything possible to assist any who lose their positions," Chaput wrote in a letter distributed at schools Friday morning.
At 10 a.m., church officials entered into a closed-door meeting with principals and administrators to discuss possible school closings.
This is only the latest in a series of Bucks County school closings. Other recently closed schools include: Our Lady of Fatima in Bensalem, St. Anne's in Bristol, Immaculate Conception and St. Thomas Aquinas in Bristol Township, St. Frances Carbini and St. Joseph the Worker in Falls, St. Martin of Tours in New Hope and St. John Bosco in Warminster.
News of the restructuring comes as just one more blow in a difficult period of area Catholics.
Thirteen months ago, former Archbishop Justin Rigali announced the creation of the panel to plan for a restructuring of schools amid plummeting student enrollment.
In February, three priests and a former teacher were arrested on charges of raping boys, while a fourth priest was accused of trying to cover up the allegations.
Then, in September, a nine-day strike by Catholic school teachers forced the church to delay the opening of many high schools.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has lost more than 34 percent of its total school enrollment since 2001, according to figures provided by the Catholic Church.
Elementary schools in the five-county archdiocese have lost more than 27,000 students in the last 11 years, according to enrollment figures. The total enrollment at the high schools fell by more than 6,700 students.
In Bucks, total enrollment has fallen about 35 percent. In Montgomery County, the number of students is down 21 percent.
In a statement posted on the Archdiocese website Thursday, Chaput said "a careful pruning of our educational system for the health of the larger mission is clearly necessary. Public school systems, both locally and nationally, have had to face the same tough decisions. But the substance of the Commission report will be much more comprehensive and much more positive than the closing of specific schools."
A press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Archdiocese headquarters in Philadelphia. Video be streamed live from the church's web site, www.archphila.org
Selected by Rigali, the blue ribbon panel is composed largely of lay people, including former corporate executives, an attorney, a former communications director and the president of a political and business consulting firm.
The commissioners included: Thomas Colligan, former U.S. vice chairman for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC; Charles Connolly, former chief executive officer of First Union Bank of Pennsylvania and Delaware; Gerald Davis, former director of public relations for Sunoco; Monsignor Edward Deliman, pastor of Saint Martin of Tours Church in Northeast Philadelphia; Eleanor Dezzi, president of a Philadelphia-based political and business consulting firm; Sister John Evelyn DiTrolio, congregational liaison for Immaculate Heart of Mary elementary schools; Sister Patricia Fadden, sitting chairwoman of the board for archdiocesan education; Frank Farnesi, former partner of KPMG international accounting firm; H. Edward Hanway, chairman emeritus of CIGNA health care; Monsignor Daniel Kutys, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Church in West Chester; Michael Leon, attorney and former member of the board for archdiocesan education; Monsignor Joseph Marino, regional vicar of Chester County; Sister Theresa Maugle, principal of Saint Genevieve School in Flourtown; The Rev. Joseph O'Keefe, dean of the school for education at Boston College; John Quindlen, former senior vice president for DuPont chemical company; Jerry Parsons, chairman of Communications Test Design Inc. of West Chester; Sister Helen Wiegmann, former member of a study group for Catholic schools in Baltimore.
"Didn't a one time school board president tell us all how wonderful the parochial school system was and how Morrisville should imitate it?"
We did in a way. Manor Park school?Closed. Reiter? Closed.
Whoever comes to MSD from Trinity or ConwellEgan will have to fit in under the Tax Cap the board just passed on Wed.
Lets stay on course here and stop referring to the stay on coarse people. Let them stay buried in there own private hells. We have to clean up after them in the public hell they left behind in Morrisville.
Elementary schools react to closing news
January 7, 2012
Joan Hellyer Staff Writer
The plan to restructure educational offerings in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia involves the proposed closing of several local Catholic elementary schools so they could merge with other area schools, officials said.
The commission recommends that Holy Trinity School in Morrisville merge with St. John the Evangelist in Lower Makefield; St. Michael the Archangel School in Tullytown merge with Our Lady of Grace in Penndel; St. Mark School in Bristol merge with St. Ephrem in Bensalem, and Assumption BVM in Lower Southampton merge with St. Bede the Venerable School in Northampton.
The mergers would be similar to the 2010 merging of four schools to form Holy Family Regional Catholic School in Middletown, officials said.
Merging with another parish school was not on the radar for Holy Trinity, according to Rev. John C. Eckert, the parish pastor.
"We were totally blindsided. We thought we were doing everything right," Eckert said. "We have not really had any declining enrollment."
About 220 students attend Holy Trinity and the parish only provides about 15 percent of the funding needed to operate the school, the pastor said. Tuition covers most of the other expenses.
Other parishes have to provide 25 percent to 30 percent of the funding for school operations, he said.
Holy Trinity provides an excellent education for students, Morrisville resident Doug Neff said Friday. His family lives across the street from the school. All four of his children attended Holy Trinity and his family was hoping the grandkids could start going to the school in the next couple years.
Neff said he worked three jobs at one time to be able to send his kids to Holy Trinity.
"I figured it was worth the sacrifice, because I figured they would get a better education in Catholic school," he said. "It was a struggle to pay for but it was worth it in the long run."
Eckert questions how his parish school can merge with St. John the Evangelist since the Morrisville School District does not provide bus transportation. St. John's is about three miles away from Holy Trinity.
"I don't know if downtown knew that (before the commission made the recommendation)," he said.
The Holy Trinity pastor said the parish will appeal the recommended closing and he's asking for the community's help.
"Let's just try to do our best to show why our school should not be closed," Eckert said. "We have to rally together to show how much our school means to us."
Rev. Dennis Mooney, pastor of St. Mark in Bristol, has "already contested the recommendation" for his parish school, according to a posting Friday on the school's website.
The blue ribbon commission recommends that St. Mark School off Radcliffe Street close and its students attend St. Ephrem School in Bensalem.
"I believe it is a wrong and ill-advised decision," Mooney said in the posting. He plans to voice his concerns to the commission on Tuesday. The church pastor also plans to meet with St. Mark parents at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the school hall to discuss the situation.
Rev. Michael C. DiIorio, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown, plans to meet with his parishioners from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the church hall to talk about the commission's recommendation.
The commissioners suggest St. Michael's school close and its students transfer to Our Lady of Grace School several miles away in Penndel.
"It was a total shock to me that we were on that list," DiIorio said Friday. "We don't understand the geography of it, for our children to have to go to Penndel. That is quite a distance, it is three (municipalities) away. I think our families will find difficulty with that."
"Lets stay on course here and stop referring to the stay on coarse people. Let them stay buried in there own private hells. We have to clean up after them in the public hell they left behind in Morrisville."
Agree in general, but personally would like to see remaining stay on coarsers esp. Stout & Ledger ousted from their positions in the next election; they bring little or nothing good to the table.
Stout, Buckman, Worob, Stout, Dreisbach and Sanford are all good places to start the weeding out.
Include Debbie Smith in that mix and after the last council meeting perhaps Victor Cicero as well. Sadly, his behavior leads me to believe he has grown puppet strings.
Yes it does look like a new alliance is forming. Or is that an old alliance with some new faces.Vic, Debbie, Todd, Eileen and to round out the 5 to 3 votes, Rita. Either way, it is contrary to all the good stuff that has been happening on council lately and already is not serving the community well.
i read the stories about the catholic school closings. i know its not all rich kids who go there but this sounds more like whining from rich white republican elitist families who finally have to face the reality that their own neighborhood school need their support to make the schools functional again.
Article in today's Phila. Inquirer.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20120108
_At_4_schools__generations_feel_the_loss.html
Below is an excerpt.
Conwell-Egan
Not even a group of former and current powerful politicians - including a former governor and current lieutenant governor - could save Conwell-Egan High.
Just before the holidays, a connected group of alumni gathered at Dacey's Pub in Morrisville to discuss the plight of the school, which was created in 1993 through the merger of all-boys Bishop Egan in Fairless Hills and all-girls Bishop Conwell in Levittown. They talked about raising money, about helping to drive up enrollment.
John Cordisco, current Bucks County Democratic committee chairman, was there. So were former Gov. Mark Schweiker, U.S. Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick, and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, all alums.
"Obviously, the archdiocese had the plan, and I think our pitch may have been a little too late," said Cordisco, a 1973 Egan grad, lawyer, and a former state House member. "I don't believe there's much we can do at this point to alter that decision."
The school now educates 570 students. Its building in Fairless Hills is at just 38 percent capacity.
The camaraderie among Egan graduates is very special and transcends just about everything, including politics, said Cordisco. Schweiker, Fitzpatrick, and Cawley are all Republicans.
"We were guys that had a special relationship that went beyond politics or business or even community. The school and spirit of the school broke those boundaries down," said Cordisco.
Memories of classes, dances, sporting events, and friends flooded Cordisco when he heard the news.
"The school is so rich in history and obviously memories," he said. "To think that it's not going to be there next year, I think is going to be very difficult for many of the alums who live in the area and outside the area."
For Cordisco, the Conwell-Egan loss comes on top of the past closure of St. Ann, where he attended elementary school. St. Ann's students transferred to St. Mark's in Bristol.
Now, St. Mark's is closing.
"I think that many alumni and parents are feeling very distraught and helpless at the moment. We may understand the economics of the archdiocese's decision, but it still has its emotional toll," he said.
Even though school let out early on Friday, Conwell-Egan juniors Shannon Stricker and Megan Pettemer didn't want to leave.
"We just milled around campus and supported each other," Pettemer said. "We were devastated."
The girls, who attended the Conwell-Egan basketball game against West Catholic on Friday night, said they were unsure where they would spend their senior year.
"This is a big family school, and even though it had been rumored, it didn't really hit us until they told us today it was on the list," Stricker said. "It's so sad. I hoped to finish here. It's not going to happen now."
Those particular politicos huddling at Dacey's bar trying to keep a private religious school open creeps me the hell out on many levels.
The Catholic Church and American politicians of every party are linked in many ways. We knew the politicians were untrustworthy. Now we know the church is the same way. Who is hiding what for who now?
Scale of 1 to 10 (1 = LEAST, 10 = MOST)
Whats your estimate of the caring level of the average Holy Trinity parent about the Morrisville Public Schools until 2 days ago?
The caring level of the Trinity parents was definitely low. Were the caring level of the MSD parents much higher?
Excuse me, but all of you assholes on this blog need to shut your mouth right now! First thing is first, just because Morrisville Public schools suck - Don't you dare take that out on Holy Trinity? Don't you dare go after Holy Trinity School for being a better school than Morrisville WILL EVER be! Don't you dare! It doesn't matter how many people on these stupid school boards try to come in and "fix" this school- YOU ARE DONE! You have NOTHING going for you and that's why you talk shit on Holy Trinity! Holy trinity is not suffering or financially in a bad place. They are merging Holy Trinity with St. Johns to HELP St. Johns boost their reputation at their school. Another thing that you Morrisville school board members, and residents of Morrisville need to understand is these parents PAY extra money for their children to attend Holy Trinity, THEY STILL PAY TAXES TO GO TO YOUR HORRIBLE SCHOOL! I am 24 years old and I am telling you right now, get your shit together and get your school on track or you will be the next ones going down the drain. You Morrisville board members and people associated with this board are unbelievable and HORRIBLE people! That's why Morrisville is a horrible school- is because you don't give a damn about the kids, ALL OF YOU people are into the politics. I'm telling you one thing- If you were in this situation, Holy Trinity staff, parents, kids and parishioners would help you because that is WHAT THEY TEACH THOSE CHILDREN IN THAT SCHOOL! That is something that MORRISVILLE WILL NEVER TEACH THOSE CHILDREN because they are too wrapped up in the little kid bull shit!! This is my first time on the blog since I heard some of the disrespectful and disgraceful comments you make around Holy Trinity. For you assholes who hide behind this blog and write shit about things you quite frankly have NO IDEA what you're talking about when it comes to Holy Trinity and the situation they are going through right now - GROW UP AND GET A LIFE!
Why would Holy Trinity parents care about Morrisville Public Schools? The Morrisville Matters, residents, and people associated with the board members do nothing but bad mouth them continuously on this blog and make your comments.
"you get what you give." maybe you guys should learn that up at Morrisville High School. :)
Morrisville should imitate exactly what Holy Trinity School does. Holy Trinity has a great reputation. Obviously you didn't read up on why they are closing the Archdiocesan schools- its due to financial reasons and trying to save money on buildings. It HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH EDUCATION, and you would know that if you actually read information that isn't on this website. Also, maybe if you did what Holy Trinity did you would have a better reputation. Oh yeah, and don't worry about a lot of the kids coming from Holy Trinity because the parents would rather spend 3000 dollars more on going to St. Johns than attend Morrisville High School! Way to go Morrisville! You continue to suck some more! Poor kids up in the high school- It is really is a shame that you have to deal with such dumb ass people in your administration and board members!
it looks like a former alter boy forgot his ritalin today.
Best of Luck to Holy Trinity! You brought this town a lot of new families and boosted our reputation as the best school in Morrisville! We wish you the best of luck in your journey ahead!
Karma's a bitch and Morrisville you will get yours. :) trust me
I don't understand why you people are talking or even worried about Holy Trinity when you should be focusing on your school and how much DEBT Morrisville High School is in. =)
Wow. I stay off the blog most of the day and come back to some choice posts. You can really see the impact of the teachings of a certain Prophet, Lord and Savior in several of them. Thanks (sort of) for your revealing candor, even though it's anonymous. You can tell it comes from the heart. That's the really scary part. Try to keep it a little cleaner, though.
Personally, I offer my sympathies to Holy Trinity patrons on the closing of the school, and I wholeheartedly welcome any new parents and students who come to the Morrisville public schools as a result, however many that may be.
One reason to worry about Holy Trinity is that if a substantial # of HT or CEC kids do come back to Morrisville public, the resources have to be there to accommodate the influx. The board just essentially voted to not raise prop. taxes next school year not knowing that these schools were closing.
Putting blinders on about the world around you and not planning well for contingencies can be harmful.
Thanks Jon for your sympathies. As a Holy Trinity parent, I am devastated and torn on what decision to make. I find it disrespectful and extremely hurtful that people would say such horrible things about Holy Trinity. Holy Trinity needs the help of Morrisville School right now more than ever! I promise you that if you were in the same boat as we are at the moment, we would reach out and try to help you. Maybe that's because of our religion, but it's because that is our way of teaching the children the importance of being good citizens and people in this community. The religion digs that people make on here are disrespectful and hurtful to Holy Trinity. Show some respect for the staff and most of all, Father Eckert please.
Jon- I maybe Anonymous and I agree, the comments were a little harsh. However, I absolutely agree with you one hundred percent that it came from the heart. I don't take back one word. The comments that other people have made on these blogs in the past and today with this article about Holy Trinity School were absolutely uncalled for and whoever wrote that sacra-mental post - you should also address that individual for keeping the posts cleaner and MORE respectful.
"First thing is first, just because Morrisville Public schools suck - Don't you dare take that out on Holy Trinity? Don't you dare go after Holy Trinity School for being a better school than Morrisville WILL EVER be! Don't you dare!"
I'd like to take a moment and say that the public schools don't "suck." They are what you make of them -- get involved in your kids' education and your kids will do well. Yes, from our public school system. The teachers, on the whole, are very good and do care about our kids.
Is it a shame that Holy Trinity and Conwell Egan are closing? Of course. Did the Archdiocese handle the situation poorly? Absolutely.
This isn't about politics, it is about finances. I can't find the article, but I read a quote where the church said this was a necessary move to ensure the longevity of it's core mission (I'm paraphrasing) and that the collections were no longer enough to support their schools.
I think they have it backward.
I think they need to reinvigorate the schools to bring up attendance to keep their core mission going. According to J.D. Mullane's article, Why Catholic Schools are Closing the Catholic school population has dropped 72% in the last 40 years. He claims it is primarily due to a shift in belief toward one of "personal truth." There may be some validity to this, but he glossed over the sex abuse scandals that just continue to come up again and again. I'd be curious to see know how much of the 72% drop has occurred in the last 10-15 years, when this abuse, and the related coverups, have been revealed.
In the end, Morrisville will now have 3 vacant school buildings and the district needs to figure out where to put the extra kids. Assuming half of the Trinity kids move over to the public school that will be approx 10-15 more kids in each grade. This is really hard to plan for since we probably won't know the real number until late summer.
Karma is a bitch. Maybe the pastor remembers getting his congregation to picket in front of one of the previous SB member's house. As for the profane posters here, it's good when you self-identify as a crazy person so we can ignore your insane ramblings. Once again, karma is a bitch, and perhaps if the church did more to protect its members in the past in stead of covering up the criminal and shameful behaviors of its priests, they wouldn't be in this mess now. 2,000 years of corruption finally catching up.
Morrisville doesn't "suck," but it definitely has a lot of things they need to clean up and fix from the previous boards. My heart and prayers goes out to Holy Trinity School, the teachers and staff members, as well as the parents and the kids. It's a sad situation for everybody. I think it's important for Morrisville High School right now to figure out(just in case) if some of these students from Holy Trinity School will attend Morrisville, if our buildings have the capacity to take in more children. What is the number of children we can hold in our buildings? Does anybody know? You have to think if there are about 200 or more students in Holy Trinity School, how many of them will come to Morrisville High and do we have the room for them?
I think this has a lot to do with politics and finances with the Catholic schools. It's a unfortunate situation for Holy Trinity, but they still have the opportunity to appeal it with a fight which the pastor has said he is going to do. It's not over yet, they still have a good chance of staying open. Maybe if we figure out the capacity of our buildings and the numbers of kids we can take it, we can help them and say "look, we don't have the room or capacity to hold all these children who are coming in." Maybe that will help them stay open and help us from trying to 1) figure out how to not only have enough resources and supplies(books,desks, etc) for these children, and 2) that this is not going to work for our schools.
On the Catholic church scandals:
"The sheer scale and longevity of the torment inflected on defenseless children should alone make it clear that it was not accidental or opportunistic but systematic. Abuse was not a failure of the system. It was the system."
I've heard it said that the Roman Catholic institution is the wealthiest government in the world. It owns a good share of America's hospitals and has many real estate interests. She has a history of collecting lands and wealth through the ages. One look at her splendor confirms this. If you want to get right with God, you have to go through his Son, Jesus Christ, according to his word and not the word of man and his traditions.
I find it almost comical that the Catholic Church condemns hoarding wealth when it has stashed billions away while the flock suffers around the world. When was the last time that Rome donated anything to the poor. Catholic Charities is from the congregations not the mother church. The recent move to close so many schools and churches also demonstrates the lack of concern for the followers by Rome. After 50 years as a Catholic I have given up on it. The failure of Rome to recruit honorable men for the clergy demonstrates the mismanagement of the trust of the people.
About the above post by someone looking for a way to tell Holy Trinity (& probably CEC) kids there's no room at the Public School Inn.
Amazing - just a few short years ago the exact OPPOSITE arguments were put forth by the School Board led by President, and Holy Trinity parishioner if I'm not mistaken, William Hellmann C.P.A. and his loyal band of followers when they called for shoving more and more public school kids into one building.
At one point, Hellmann put forth (in writing) sticking ALL students into the HS building. Arguments were made several times about how much excess capacity was in the buildings, and about how MSD's class sizes and Student-Teacher ratios are way too low, and when on the Board some members walked about classrooms clucking their tongues (figuratively) about classes with small numbers of students in them, not bothering to understand any of the context.
Also amazing (or maybe more like ironic) how now U.S. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick met at a local bar before Christmas to save Holy Trinity from a merger, when as Solicitor of the Morrisville School Board he was specifically DIRECTED by his Board cohorts to pursue merging Morrisville High School with a "below Rt. 1" district.
Do you mean this?
From a Bill Hellmann e-mail written to the rest of the board fewer than 24 hours after the (M.R. Reiter) boiler blew on Dec 13, 2008...
“If we close both elementary schools and put everybody in the high school, we will save a FORTUNE in operating costs. EVERY YEAR. The pro new-schoolers wanted a K-12 school. Well here it is. The other people who might not want a K-12 are a minority and when they see their reduced tax bill on July 1 of each year, they just may change their minds in these new tough economic times. We will save ANOTHER fortune by not repairing either of those two buildings. We will solve the M.R. Reiter problem. CLOSE THIS RAT TRAP NOW.”
Can we all take a step back? It's a brand new open wound for the Holy Trinity group and a brand new situation for the MSD to address.
We've differed on issues before. Maybe this can be an issue to help unite us as a community. In the end, we're both looking out for the students.
To the above poster who claimed that Fr. Eckert got his congregation to picket in front of one of the previous SB member's house, to you I say, you are a LIAR. Are you the same person who claimed that the former school board member was excommunicated from the church? That would be amazing as I see her quite often attending Mass. If you feel these things are true, I invite you to call Father Eckert at the rectory to discuss matters further, but I am sure you will not.
"Can we all take a step back? It's a brand new open wound for the Holy Trinity group and a brand new situation for the MSD to address.
We've differed on issues before. Maybe this can be an issue to help unite us as a community. In the end, we're both looking out for the students."
I like this. A lot. I collectively wish us all good luck with that.
Fr Eckert didn't get them to picket the fellow parishioner. Okay. Did he ask them to stop? It was right in front of the church. It went on for many days. Might of been weeks. Would of been nice if he did something to resolve the conflict.
A testiment to faith and the power of forgivenss, turning the other cheek, what have you, is that she still attends Mass and sends her child to school there.
Yes please let's step back. It"s all about children. We don't need another empty school. The parents from Holy Trinity were behind the coach that got fired. The parents of Holy Trinity pay school taxes and CHOOSE to send their children to Holy Trinity. The parents of Holy Trinity spend money in this town Giant, dollar store, produce store,etc. None of the residents in this town want or need another empty building.
Such blind faith in the infallibility of the church is what led to the centuries of abuses of the flock. We all remember what happened with the church and the new schoolers. Denying it won't make it go away.
It was wrong then, and it's wrong now, and yes, the small petty part of me feels like this is a bit of comeuppance, but the bigger part of me feels sadness that the community loses another great resource, and I feel bad for the parents and kids who are losing out on what was considered a great local education. Perhaps if the same parents gave a fraction of this care to the public schools, instead of obscenity laced tirades and the accompanying attitudes, MSD might be in better shape too. If the poster above is an example of what Trinity produces, it should be closed. :-J
What would you have liked Fr. Eckert to do to help resolve the conflict? Not all of those protestors are members of Holy Trinity parish. Should their ministers have interceded as well? You might also want to learn where Holy Trinity Church is located as the protest did not occur in front of the church. I suspect you will not follow my initial suggestion and contact Fr. Eckert directly. I am not surprised.
I was not trying to offend anyone. My Blind Faith is asking that we think of the financial welfare of our community. Let's work together.
Holy Trinity needs your help right now- not your negative words and attention !!! Let's work together!!!!!!
What would you have liked Fr. Eckert to do to help resolve the conflict?
For starters, not inciting his flock to do so.
Not all of those protestors are members of Holy Trinity parish. Should their ministers have interceded as well?
Yes, if they had any.
You might also want to learn where Holy Trinity Church is located as the protest did not occur in front of the church.
Up the block a short distance in plain sight of the front doors, right where many people park for services and on a Sunday morning, but why quibble?
I suspect you will not follow my initial suggestion and contact Fr. Eckert directly. I am not surprised.
Why should I contact him? My memory of what was said and done is intact. Nothing he could say now would change that. You may believe what you like. I saw the hypocrisy in action.
And like I said before, you are a total LIAR who has no guts to contact Fr. Eckert directly and speak to the man. Feel free to continue in your bigotry.
Talking about which school/school system is better is ridiculous. They are funded differently & have different education responsibilities so they cannot be compared.
Honestly, I don't know why they would be compared anyway. This is a travesty for all of Morrisville Borough. No matter what you feel about Holy Trinity School or the Morrisville School District, its clear that the Morrisville community is going to be missing out on something that it once had and now will not. Just the fact that we have had both the MSD and Holy Trinity School in our tiny community was of benefit to our entire town.
My children attended the MSD and the tech school, but I am so saddened by this Catholic school situation that Morrisville is now facing. This doesn't effect a group of us folks, it effects all of us. Holy Trinity School's place in our community will truly be missed.
Years ago, St. John's was our family's church. when our kids were young, they went through their CCD program at St. John's. It was for the most part a positive experience for us all. And as I said, our children went through the MSD. I can tell you that for such a small school district, it certainly is full of adults who care about children. The teachers & staff really go above and beyond to provide everything they possibly can for the children. I believe a big, bold step was made by the community in electing new members to the school board who will work with educators in a positive way.
To the families of children attending Holy Trinity School, you are very present in my thoughts. Such a horrible "what to do" situation you must be feeling. Your children are being uprooted from a stable environment that you have provided. This is just terrible. I'm thinking of you.
To the poster who is claiming that Fr. Eckert incited parishioners to protest, you cannot be further from the truth. Fr. Eckert never did anything like that.
"And like I said before, you are a total LIAR who has no guts to contact Fr. Eckert directly and speak to the man. Feel free to continue in your bigotry."
Right!!!! What lies? and who is the bigot here? A member of an organization with a 2000 year history of corruption and misogyny? Or maybe the organization that tortured people into confessions of heresy in the name of God to steal their property? OR maybe the one that used the sledgehammer of interdict as a bludgeon to impact world politics? Or the one that sent thousands of people to the middle east to kill, rape and pillage the infidel in the name of their God, Or perhaps the one that has more wealth in its organization than most countries, but allows its followers to suffer in poverty, or maybe the one that sold indulgences so wealthy people could sin with impunity, or maybe the one that not only allowed, but helped cover-up, its leaders assaults on the innocence of children. Need we go on?.... The only lies are the ones you seem to be telling yourself.
The local Republicans or Democrats are responsible for George W. Bush or Barack Obama the same way Fr Eckert is responsible for the Catholic Church--ZERO.
Keep on topic people. Stop acting out and make this work. The past is done. Apply the Sacrament of Reconciliation and move on without the anger.
Oh folks, this is no time for all of this. This is a time for us all to work together.
I hope the angry poster going on about things like the Crusades doesn't drive a German or Japanese auto.
When the dust settles a bit, may I suggest some sort of meeting of reps of Holy Trinity and MSD to talk through issues (not the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition or the Salem Witch Trials but issues directly impacting education and the community)?
Kind of like a joint Boro Council-School Board meeting, but with reasonable level-headed reps all around.
I don't think there is any alarm at the high school level. Holy Trinity parishioners bus the high school kids themselves, so there will probably be another option offered such as sending all of the high school kids to Archbishop Ryan. On a grade school level, I think there is a very strong possibility for Holy Trinity to successfully appeal the decision as the school operates without a deficit. Relax, folks. I don't think there is much to worry about.
I sincerely hope the Archdiocese listens alot better than the Hellman school board did.
They always knew best and you were supposed to just cooperate. Facts or contrary arguments no matter how good were not welcome.
Message from Monsignor of St. John the Evangelist. Sounds like its embracing the change.
http://www.stjohnpa.org/school/
MSD Board Pres. Bill Hellmann and Solicitor Mike Fitzpatrick promised written responses to community questions about M.R.Reiter's permanent closing, at a January 29, 2009 public hearing about 1.5 months after its crippling December 13, 2008 furnace explosion.
They stonewalled for 1 full year, then delivered a steaming pile of crap.
So I'd like to add to the above poster's sincere hope. I sincerely hope that Holy Trinity's constituency gets much much better responses and treatment than this.
Institutions failing their constituencies like that erode credibility and public trust, making people skeptical of all their moves, even what might be good ones.
Thanks Jon for your idea of forming a committee. Let's work together. Children are Children they didn't ask for this. Their world is shatter. I would fight for Morrisville student also. All teachers and personal from all of 44 elem. and 5 high schools all lose their jobs. Let's stop with the stone throwing. Bucks County will have a very high unemployment rate.
A very sad situation, regardless of who or what caused it.
Jon, " MSD is the district" that's below Rt.1. Fitz met with politicos at local pub to talk bout Conwell-Egan, not HTS!
Father John was in oppossion to the picket infact two parishioners left the church as a result of his strong oppossion to the picketing, but no one was excommunicated.
It seems we have quite a few God-Haters on this blog!!!
I've been in both schools and there definetly is a difference. I believe in conform, reform & uniform when it comes to education, without those 3 elements it's a waste. It wouldn't be a bad idea if MHS would imitate some of that. Maybe we can get something good out of all this, it would be about time for MHS to start looking good, who could disagree with that?
It is a shame that some unidentified person has come on here intent on lying about Fr. Eckert. Thank you to the poster who took the time to set the record straight about him.
There is no way I intend on comparing these schools. Its the apples and oranges thing for me. One is privately funded and one is publicly funded. One can pick & choose and one cannot. One has to accomodate certain things that the other does not. Of course they are different. In both schools the staff strives to provide a positive atmosphere for the children.
Some of the stuff I have read on this thread has left me shaking my head. For every good thing said there is followed a huge amount of childish name calling stuff. No wonder Morrisville is sometimes looked at by some as the lesser son in Bucks County. In Morrisville we all know that there seems to be more that divides us than unites us. I've been told we can't get out of our own way. I can only imagine what anyone not from town must think about us when they read this stuff. Get over yourselves already. Quit pointing fingers already, its old. This is a terrible thing for all of us. This should be uniting us, not dividing us. Geez people, its children we're talking about, grow up.
Sorry, meant "opposition"several post back.
I can't believe the new school board has been in their new possitions for 2 months and we've not heard a word about anything? I guess they haven't found anything wrong with what the last board was doing. I would imagine by now something would have been made public. I think the blogger around #30 had a good point...It's not the schoolboard that can make any difference! I don't see anything happening!!!
Yes ....We can't get out of our own way...I was told at a certain community meeting, by a certain courier time commentator, that they were told the reason is corruption!!! So, we all know that when money is the concern, people are left on the back burner!!!
I have no doubt the newly elected school board people have as big of a mountain of items to look over as was left in the wake of Jane Burger's downfall. I would think they haven't even scratched the surface of the amount of messes are now in their laps. I'm sure they have much to look over and there is a learning curve when it comes to being elected to these types of things. Normally, the people already serving would mentor the new people (like Debbie Smith has Jane, Rita & Eileen). I would suggest to the new sch. brd. people being very careful of this because there are those who would lead others down a path just to point fingers later. As for the comment above, okay I'll bite, (although I know better). 2 months really? Obviously who sits on school board does matter. It took several years for Hellman & friends to screw up the school district, its going to take much more time to get things properly functioning again.
"Yes ....We can't get out of our own way...I was told at a certain community meeting, by a certain courier time commentator, that they were told the reason is corruption!!! So, we all know that when money is the concern, people are left on the back burner!!!"
I just could not take this comment seriously. I couldn't get past the I heard somewhere that he said, she said. I hope this was meant to be funny because it was amusing to me.
I simply cannot agree that "when money is concerned people are left on the back burner." I personally know several officials who sit on council and on the school board who are committed to the community. My suggestion is to consider sources at all times and if you hear something confront the person being talked about. In Morrisville, lies are spread through whispering on a constant basis. Its been this way for years.
forgive my spelling - I haven't had my morning coffee.
I stand corrected about Mike Fitzpatrick. Let me revise my earlier statement accordingly.
"Also amazing (or maybe more like ironic) how now U.S. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick met at a local bar before Christmas to save Conwell Egan High School from closing, when as Solicitor of the Morrisville School Board he was specifically DIRECTED by his Board cohorts to pursue eliminating Morrisville High School and farming out the students to another "below Rt. 1" district."
There, that's ... better?
I don't think there's much if any corruption in Morrisville in the classic sense of people on the take for money. I do think there has been a shortage of smart, reasonable, forward thinking people in positions of authority. The "corruption" to me is like death by 1,000 paper cuts - lots of little things. Hard headed, gullible, my way or the highway, scorched earth hypocrites who think they know best based on bumper sticker ideologies and half-baked (or even unbaked) information. Not enough independent thinkers and too many people willing to be led by the nose by someone a bit sharper than them. Too many people willing to take 3rd hand gossip for an answer. And yes, plenty of lies.
I'm not expecting miracles, and I wouldn't expect a Grand Inquisition into the past, but I think the last School Board election resulted in a big improvement in this regard. It's a small sample size, but I think the tone and quality of the School Board meetings is markedly improved so far.
I don't know Fr. Eckert from Fr. Time. But that wasn't anybody's finest moment with the possible exception of Corinne Martin who endured it with grace.
The next MSD Superintendent Advisory Meeting is tomorrow (Wed. 1/11) at 7:00 p.m. in the High School LGI.
The entire community is invited, and I think it might be a good forum for Holy Trinity parents to come, listen to, and ask questions of, MSD Superintendent Bill Ferrara.
As a Holy Trinity parent I agree Corine Martin did handle the situation with dignity. It should of never happened. I blame the protestors for not having a ounce of sense. It wasn't the time or place to put any hardship on a volunteer who was trying to help our school and town be a better place. Let's learn a lesson from this and have some compassion.
What a touching article in courier today about Bristol Borough backing the fight for St. Mark Sch. to stay open. My prayer for Morrisville for 2012, is that we could pull our town together, and become what God wants us to be...treating each other with dignity. Jon what you said earlier is so true, I forget the few colorful adjectives you used to describe them, but your right. We are all just human and we all fail...If anyone says they don't they're lying, and we can ask their moms or your children to confirm it's true!!!!! Morrisville as a whole needs wake up ! I like the forgiveness post, Thanks.
Let's help Holy Trinity and work as a team!! This could be a great way for both schools to work together and really make a change in this town!!!!!!
It's time to stop knocking one another and work together. One thing that we ALL have common in this town is THE CHILDREN. We need to give these children in this town hope and change their lives! Enough with the Morrisville School District nonsense and Trinity nonsense. enough with the lies, hatred and disrespect for one another. ENOUGH with the rumors and gossip- let's come together and work as ONE group together!! It's not that hard, if we just stop being negative and disrespectful to each other!! Perhaps if we just LISTEN to one another that could be a huge accomplishment on making a difference in this town for ALL the children!
This is heading in a better direction than yesterday.
Baby steps.
Are there any plans for a gathering in Morrisville to support Holy Trinity similar to the St. Mark's demonstration of support at Bristol's Borough Council meeting? The article from the Courier was an example of just the kind of coverage Morrisville never gets, but maybe it's because we don't rally together and organize in the same way.
There is a meeting at Holy Trinity School on Thursday. I believe it is at 6:00 in the cafeteria. This is where the administrators will provide information about what's the next step and how we can appeal this decision! Come and Help us please!
Could vouchers have prevented Catholic school closings?
January 10, 2012
By Gary Weckselblatt Staff Writer
A member of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Blue Ribbon Commission that recommended the closing of nearly 50 schools said if a school voucher law had been passed a decade ago, the need for the Catholic schools restructuring "would not have been as dramatic and drastic as we had to announce last Friday."
Eleanor Dezzi, one of 16 members on the task force of church officials and laity created in December 2010 by Cardinal Justin Rigali, added if the General Assembly passed SB 1 last year, which Gov. Tom Corbett campaigned on, "maybe we would have been able to plan better."
Archbishop Charles Chaput accepted the commission's internal analysis of the struggling school system last week. It will displace almost 24,000 students and leave the region with four fewer high schools and 44 fewer elementary schools at the beginning of the next academic year.
The massive restructuring was done as the Philadelphia Office for Catholic Education copes with declining enrollment. The system has 68,000 students, 35 percent fewer than a decade ago. The archdiocese already closed 30 schools over the past five years, leaving 178 schools in the city and four surrounding counties.
Twelve schools in Bucks and Montgomery counties were proposed for closing Friday, including Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Bristol Township.
Dezzi, chairwoman of two of the commission's subcommittees, based her voucher claims on surveys filled out by thousands of parents who said the number one issue preventing their children from attending a Catholic school was "the rising cost of tuition."
She said "Gov. Corbett had pen in hand ready to sign (a voucher bill). If this had happened 10 years ago, we wouldn't be standing here."
State Rep. John Galloway, D-140, disputes Dezzi's claim. "The voucher plan would have had no effect on schools in my district," he said.
Galloway, who represents Bristol, Morrisville, and Tullytown and Falls Township, said he no longer will have any Catholic schools in his district after the closing of Holy Trinity in Morrisville, St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown and St. Mark in Bristol.
The archdiocese previously closed St. Joseph in Levittown, St. Frances Cabrini in Fairless Hills and St. Ann in Bristol. Conwell-Egan is just over the border, although many of his constituents, including his daughter, are students there.
"Vouchers would have helped inner city Catholic schools," he said. "The criteria was the school had to be failing. None of my schools would have met that criteria."
The Senate passed a voucher bill last October to help lower-income families avoid struggling public schools and afford the cost of private or parochial school tuition.
Under the bill, tuition vouchers would be available to students who attended or were to attend one of the state's 143 worst-performing schools and whose family income is about $41,000 or less. In the second year of the law, children who live in the attendance boundaries and meet the eligibility requirement, but already attend a private or parochial school, could receive tuition aid.
Education Committee staff said the vouchers would cost taxpayers $16 million in the first year and $76 million in the second year. The bill also would make it easier for school boards to convert schools into charter schools.
The state House failed to pass a Republican-sponsored amendment that called for vouchers to be tested in a five-year pilot project that would involve about 60 schools in 10 school districts.
Galloway voted for the GOP plan because it would expand the $75 million Educational Improvement Tax Credit over three years to $125 million a year, he said. The tax credits are available every year for money that an eligible business contributes to a school or an education organization.
"The EITC would have had a dramatic impact," he said. "The EITC actually worked. It would have been a tremendous benefit to all Catholic schools, and been an immediate positive impact on the schools that closed."
State Rep. Paul Clymer, R-145, chairman of the House Education Committee, doesn't believe the voucher bill would have been a game changer for the archdiocese.
"It might have helped to some degree, but I don't think it would have stopped all those closings," he said.
In the meantime, he said the passing of a voucher bill this year "still has a heartbeat" but "it's going to be a hard row to hoe."
Clymer figures the state budget won't be easy to balance, and with school budgets also tight lawmakers may not be willing to vote for voucher spending.
"Vouchers take money out of public education," Galloway said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Could vouchers have prevented Catholic school closings?
Maybe. Maybe not. That doesn’t mean it’s Constitutional, fair, or good policy to pump public taxpayer money into private religious (or non-religious) educational institutions, especially with admissions criteria of their own choosing.
This made me think of a 1970's Saturday Night Live sketch that I barely remember called "What if Spartacus had a Piper Cub?". I don't quite know why. There has to be another, better example of something that may have prevented something from happening, but wasn't necessarily a good idea. But if anyone can post a video of that SNL sketch, I'd be eternally grateful.
Today is definitely a brighter day for Holy Trinity! Keep your head up and keep fighting for your school!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ijkYkJfg0s
I’m sorry Jon but I’m going to have to disagree with you there. I think it is fair- Holy Trinity parents, not only pay tuition but TAXES TOO. These parents pay their taxes just like YOU AND I DO. I think that’s a hard concept for a lot of the people in this town to understand- HOLY TRINITY PARENTS PAY TAXES TOO!!!!!!! I KNOW!! Can you believe it!! Guess what else they do, they ALSO *CHOOSE ** TO PAY AND SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO A RELIGIOUS SCHOOL!!!! You may not feel that it’s fair, but it’s not really up to you. So here’s a lesson maybe you and some other people should learn how to grasp, “LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS FAIR and YOU DON’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT.” Maybe you should learn that, it might save you some heartache. =)
Vouchers would be a great idea for this district! It would allow those people that can't afford to send their children to Trinity to have a new opportunity for their child/ children. I don't think it's a bad idea. After all the wonderful things i hear people say about Holy Trinity, the principal and staff, and everything they offer- I would definitely look into that for my child who attends Morrisville. Nothing against Morrisville of course, I just would like to give my child a different opportunity at learning with new friends and in a different atmosphere.
I love the signs that people are putting on their lawns and houses to show support to their school. You can definitely see that the students and families of holy trinity have faith and love towards their school!
Jon has a good idea about the schools meeting together and working things out. Definitely Should've thought that a long time ago! Great suggestion Jon!
Keep Fighting Holy Trinity !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Archdiocese Will Hear School Closing Appeals
Updated: Tuesday, 10 Jan 2012, 6:28 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 10 Jan 2012, 6:28 PM EST
Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials now say they will hear final appeals from any of 49 schools set to close this summer, in what amounts to a Hail Mary pass for students and teachers.
Slideshow: Students Protest On Monday At Three Schools
UPDATE (Click Here): Complete Closings List
Slideshow: Famous Local Catholic School Grads
In a statement on Tuesday, Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials said they will hear appeals and make the closing list absolutely final in about one month..
The Archdiocese also changed statements on its www.faithinthefutre.com Web site published on the weekend that Archbishop Chaput's decision was final. Now, the site outlines the appeals process.
The Archdiocese met with representatives from the 49 closing schools earlier on Tuesday and issued the statement after the meeting.
“Today, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia outlined a review process for parish and school administrators who wish to request that the recommendation of a closure, partnership or regionalization be reconsidered for their school,” the statement said.
The Archdioceses has set up two Review Committees-one for parish elementary schools and one for high schools-to facilitate these requests, it said.
Pastors, elementary school principals and high school presidents will be allowed to present an appeal
At the meetings, members of the Blue Ribbon Commission will present facts used in its recommendation, while those seeking an appeal can present facts and documentation.
Archbishop David Chaput will then make a final decision by mid-February.
A rally was held at Archbishop Prendergast and Monsignor Bonner High Schools on Monday morning. Students and parents were making an attempt at saving their school from closure.
The two Delaware County high schools were on the list of those recommended for closure.
There were similar scenes at Saint Mark's in Bristol and at West Catholic High School
The Archbishop Of Philadelphia, David Chaput, spoke with Fox 29 on Monday night about the decision process.
He said he received a lot of mail over the weekend and some of it was negative.
“It is part of my responsibility to listed to the people who have other ideas and who let me know they weren’t pleased with the decision,” he said.
The Archbishop said if there are appeals, they need to be based on facts, not on emotion.
“Emotion is part of our life. It’s not something we can divorce ourselves from,” said Archbishop Chaput. “But the advice that came to me was for a serious reason. We just can’t continue doing what we are doing, bleeding financially and our enrollment is very low in some of our schools.”
“So we have to do something about that. To save the whole system we have to make some cuts.”
Chaput said the rallies show the importance of education to parishioners.
“We will be with the people through the next weeks,” Chaput said.
Guess what? I know Holy Trinity parents pay taxes. Yes, I really do. I never thought otherwise. I don't think many other people ever doubted that either. And I totally agree that people CHOOSE to pay to send their children to a religious school. Their choice. Totally up to them. So I think you should try to grasp the lesson that life isn't always fair and you don't always get somebody else's money to subsidize your choice to send your child to a private religious school. If you work real hard and get the PA Constitution changed to abolish this pesky stuff in Article III, well then you’re talkin’...
B. Education
Public School System
Section 14
The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.
Public School Money Not Available to Sectarian Schools
Section 15
No money raised for the support of the public schools of the Commonwealth shall be appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian school.
“LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS FAIR and YOU DON’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT.” Maybe you should learn that, it might save you some heartache. =)
Wow! Did you read what you wrote and keep a straight face?
You advocate for public funding of a private religious institution that is being closed against your wishes, and then you make that statement? Really?
It's not enough that religious institutions are granted tax-free status in spite of their vast wealth and real estate holdings, but we should also be forced to provide them funding from our over-extended tax base?
The Supreme court agrees and in Everson v. Board of Education (1947) Justice Black stated:
No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion.
Once, just once, can you just admit you hate God and give me your money?
Thanks for doing our bidding for us. We simply love it when the 99% tears itself apart.
Regards,
The Koch Bros.
At one time Dr. Yonson used her smart board and showed stats 39% economically challenged in MO'ville dist. Senator Picollo and Dinnermann did studies and found it to be a good thing to give those less fortunate an opportunity to come out of their devastating circumstances.It would definitely help the public schools before it could ever benefit catholic schs. Really think about it? It cost how much to educate each student publically? Most of catholic sch. education is supplemented by fund raising done by parents & church members, It would help in some way and it definetly benifit the children. The catholic school would get the tuition and the rest of the shortfall would be absorbed by the congregation, because that's what christian people do, that is the basis of their faith, helping the less fortunate!! If you are looking at this through eyes of dollars and sense, it's a bigger win all around for public school cost cutting and problem solving! so much for the God-Haters!!!Pretty politically dumb!
That's a point, it's triple the money to educate public, so when you have vouchers, how could it cost more to public schools? they would pay tuition for the student and have excess dollars left, who knows about what really goes on in cases like this? Speak, please! Our officials never give solid answers, like most politicos!
Was that you who just cited 2 politicos, Senator Picollo and Dinnermann (actually, Piccola and Dinniman), or someone else?
Sorry, but that's kind of scattershot and unpersuasive to me. It doesn't get past the un-Constitutionality problem either. It also doesn't resolve the problem of private schools, religious or not, being able to pick and choose what students they'll accept (or reject) under their own criteria.
But I know we have a voucher friendly Governor and some powerful forces pushing big money into the voucher effort. If the highest court has the right majority of those non-activist activist judges too, you never know what can happen.
Will the anonymous poster please post links to the voucher studies Sens. Piccola and Dinniman did?
I would like to read them to broaden my perspective. Thanks!
That constitution has been tread on through out the years, ex: Judge Black 1947. The only reason religion was noted, so to insure the goverment would never have the power to force us to attend a church not of our choice. There goes the politicos again, running their will! One nation under God!!!
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942.
The Pledge has been modified four times since its composition, with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954.
Congressional sessions open with the recital of the Pledge, as do government meetings at local levels, and meetings held by many private organizations. It is also commonly recited in school at the beginning of every school day, although the Supreme Court has ruled on several occasions that students cannot be compelled to recite the Pledge, or punished for not doing so.
“That constitution has been tread on through out the years, ex: Judge Black 1947.”
Tell me about it.
- Dred Scott
Review committees will look at hard facts, not emotions
Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012 5:30 am | Updated: 6:50 am, Thu Jan 12, 2012.
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer | 0 comments
Although the appeal process begins Thursday for Catholic schools slated to close, the first of the Bucks County schools on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s recommended closure list will have to wait until next week to have their say.
All schools have been told to present facts, not emotions, when they meet with review committees to argue the reasons their institution should be kept open, archdiocese officials told administrators.
In Bucks County, a blue-ribbon commission advised that 10 elementary schools restructure into five regional schools, and Conwell-Egan Catholic High School close completely.
Four of five elementary schools recommended for closure are appealing. Assumption BVM in Lower Southampton is the lone school not fighting to stay open, and agrees to a merger with St. Bede the Venerable in Northampton.
Holy Trinity in Morrisville and St. Mark in Bristol will meet with a review committee about their appeals Tuesday. St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown will be heard Jan. 19;
St. John the Baptist in Nockamixon will get its turn Jan. 26.
As of Wednesday, Conwell-Egan in Bristol Township didn’t have a scheduled date yet, said school President Janet Dollard, who expects the meeting to happen by the end of next week. There’s a potential date, but a time needs to be squared away, she said.
Administrators of suggested partnering schools will also have to be at the scheduled appeal meetings and present facts and documentation.
The review committees will work off information from the commission’s 37-page report released Friday. Archbishop Charles Chaput is expected to make the final decision in mid-February.
The blue-ribbon commission reviewed data, reports and analysis including enrollment trends and financial state of each school, archdiocese officials said.
The commission “consulted with representatives from the teachers union, minority community groups, BLOCS, Connelly Foundation as well as school administrators; and conducted an archdiocese-wide survey of adults with children in archdiocesan schools, and received input from more than 3,000 respondents,” said Meredith Wilson, spokeswoman for the archdiocese.
In addition, she said that “as the commission worked to create a plan for the future, they were required to look at this in much the same way a family would approach their future goals — how can the choices we make now allow us to live within our means and meet our future goals.”
And even if schools start fundraising, each appealing school will still have to go through the process.
“Our mission of Catholic education is badly served by trying to sustain unsustainable schools, which is why the blue ribbon commission has made the difficult recommendation to regionalize, partner or close your school,” reads the commission’s website.
In a letter dated Jan. 5 to John Quindlen, chairman of the commission, Chaput praised the group’s courage in coming up with the difficult decision of closing and merging schools.
“You’ve done a great service for our local Church,” read the letter. “Philadelphia’s Catholic community is in your debt. ... Over the past decade our parishes and the archdiocese have spent millions of dollars to support struggling schools. Pastors have made heroic efforts to keep these classrooms open; but in a time of limited resources and fewer children, justice requires that we use our resources to best effect.”
He continued in the letter: “We need to honor the great history of Catholic education in our archdiocese. But we must not be constrained by it. Nostalgia for the past is a bad foundation if we want to think clearly and build creatively for the future. ... It’s not enough for Catholic education to survive; it needs to grow, and we cannot make that happen with old behaviors and models of operation.”
"Once, just once, can you just admit you hate God and give me your money?"
There's no hatred of God expressed here. There is however an inability to join in the resolution of dissonance so many people seem to have accomplished when considering organized religion, and especially the catholic church. This is an organization with a shameful history of wanton abuses of power. They claim to be the arbiters of God's will on this earth. I just can't drink that Kool-Aid.
No, it looks like we'll all be drinking government kool-aid!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOGWbzUM-y8
Can we have some gubmint cheese with that kool-aid?
General:
Try one of these Jamaican cigars, ambassador, they're pretty good.
DeSadeski:
Thank you, no. I do not support the work of imperialist stooges.
General:
Oh, only commie stooges, huh?
Holy Trinity in it to win appeal
Posted: Friday, January 13, 2012 5:00 am | Updated: 7:20 am, Fri Jan 13, 2012.
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer | 0 comments
Catholics got a wake-up call, Elaine McDowell said.
Many Catholics were shocked by a blue ribbon commission’s recommendation to restructure the five-county Catholic school system run by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. But McDowell, the principal of Holy Trinity School, wasn’t. She knew it was coming.
However, McDowell never believed her school was in jeopardy because the elementary school is in the black, with only $74,071 in debt from a roof maintenance job — a cost that happens every 25 years, she said during a parent meeting Thursday night.
Holy Trinity is among four Catholic elementary schools in Bucks County appealing the commission’s recommendation to close. Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, the only secondary archdiocese school in Lower Bucks, has been recommended for closure and is appealing as well.
McDowell assured parents that she and the Rev. John Eckert will present a factual argument against merging with St. John the Evangelist in Lower Makefield when they go before the review committee at 10 a.m. Tuesday. And they are committed to going through as many appeals as needed to keep Holy Trinity open.
The final decision on appeals will come from Archbishop Charles Chaput on Feb. 15.
While interested in learning the commission’s reasons to merge the schools, parents were concerned with possible tuition hikes.
McDowell, like many in the Morrisville community, is left scratching her head as to why the commission recommended that Holy Trinity merge with St. John, especially when that school is far more in debt, $244,481.
“We are fighting back with (the archdiocese’s) own words,” McDowell said.
The archdiocese wants affordability in the Catholic school system. Holy Trinity has it. The school is “the lowest tuition/lowest subsidy” in the archdiocese, McDowell said. And that will be one of the arguments.
The system wants sustainability in schools. Holy Trinity also has it. The school has lost 14 students in the last four years, there’s a pre-kindergarten waiting list and 15 percent of Sunday collection goes to the school.
McDowell added that the archdiocese wants accessibility, but, she points out, the merger will remove the accessibility Morrisville students have in walking to school or being dropped off by parents, since Morrisville is not a busing school district. McDowell and Eckert will bring that point up as well on Tuesday.
Eckert said whatever the outcome of the appeal process, “We will all come out reunited, fighting to keep Catholic education alive.”
McDowell also said she would follow through with her plan to start a recruiting campaign to keep enrollment up in the school, if the archdiocese gives Holy Trinity a second chance.
And now that the alarm has gone off for Catholics, McDowell encouraged the Catholic community to be more active, such as attending Mass and contributing to Sunday collection, which helps parish schools.
During Thursday’s meeting, parents had many questions that McDowell and Eckert could not answer. They are waiting to receive mail from the archdiocese that they hope will include point-by-point reasons for recommending the restructure.
For now, McDowell’s only guess as to why Holy Trinity is recommended to close and transfer students to St. John is because the Lower Makefield school is bigger and sits on a 21-acre lot.
Parents wondered why St. John can’t merge with St. Ignatius of Antioch School in Yardley since the schools are closer to each other and both are within the Pennsbury School District, which has a busing system.
Holy Trinity and St. John officials are expected to meet Wednesday for their first merger meeting, just in case.
Public schools prepare to welcome Catholic school students
January 13, 2012
By Joan Hellyer Staff Writer
The recommended merging of area Catholic schools in Lower Bucks County could present challenges to local school districts, officials said.
Local public school systems are assessing what could happen with the proposed mergers and the closing of the only Archdiocese of Philadelphia high school in Lower Bucks County, the officials said.
A blue ribbon commission appointed by the archdiocese recommends merging six local Catholic elementary-middle schools into three schools and closing Conwell-Egan-Catholic High School in Bristol Township to reduce expenses.
The school mergers would include Holy Trinity in Morrisville with St. John the Evangelist in Lower Makefield, St. Michael the Archangel in Tullytown with Our Lady of Grace in Penndel and St. Mark in Bristol with St. Ephrem in Bensalem. The three new schools would be located in Lower Makefield, Penndel and Bensalem, according to the commission's recommendation.
CEC, Holy Trinity, St. Michael and St. Mark are appealing the recommendations. However, if those appeals fail, parents might opt to enroll their child or children in their local public school instead of sending them to a merged school or another Catholic high school, officials said.
"This may severely challenge our school district, which has been experiencing increased elementary school enrollment coupled with severe state budget cuts," Bristol Township Superintendent Samuel Lee said.
That's because Bristol Township families who have children attending St. Michael's could opt to go the public school route instead of sending their children to the merged school in Penndel, officials said.
It's a trend Bristol Township has seen in recent years, due in part to the sagging economy, officials said.
The district's elementary school population is near capacity, spokeswoman Eileen Kelliher said. In some recent cases, the district has been forced to bus kindergarten students out of their attendance areas because of space issues, Kelliher said.
Despite that, Bristol Township is examining what could happen with the mergers and is looking at ways to help area families with transitioning into their respective public schools, officials said.
"We are saddened by the plight of the Catholic schools and have great compassion for the families that have supported them through the generations," Lee said. "Catholic schools have made many contributions to our area and have helped to lighten the tax burden for our residents."
Bristol School District officials also are looking for ways to do some outreach to St. Mark families who are considering enrolling their children in their public school system instead of sending them to the recommended merged school in Bensalem.
"Our primary concern is for the families. We want families to embrace our schools," Bristol Superintendent Gregory Wright said. "We welcome their students with open arms and we want to hear from the families. We want to know how we can help."
The borough's elementary-middle school has a capacity of about 1,100 students. Enrollment right is about 950, Wright said. Bristol High School has a capacity of 700, but its student population is 350 right now. The district rents empty classroom space to the county's intermediate unit, the superintendent said.
Pennsbury officials are trying to gauge how a potential closing of St. Michael could impact its student population, spokeswoman Ann Langtry said.
They also are reaching out to families of CEC students in the district who are considering a move to the public school system, she said.
Pennsbury administrators will host a 7 p.m. question-and-answer session on Jan. 25 with Catholic school families in the district who have students in eighth- through 11th-grade.
The information session will be held in the auditorium of Pennsbury High School-East at 705 Hood Blvd. in Falls. Information: 215-949-6700.
Parents look for Catholic school options
Posted: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 5:00 am | Updated: 7:15 am, Tue Jan 17, 2012.
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer | 0 comments
Some Catholic school parents are beginning to weigh their options for their children’s future, while awaiting the final word from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on school shutdowns.
If they receive word that their school is on the final list of closings, expected to be announced Feb. 15, they want a plan in place.
Earlier this month, the archdiocese named 48 schools recommended by a blue ribbon committee to close because of declining enrollments and financial struggles.
Eleven are in Bucks County — nine of them in Lower Bucks, including Conwell-Egan High School in Bristol Township.
The schools still have a shot at staying open, since the archdiocese is hearing appeals before the list is finalized.
Linda Daniels wants to keep her freshman son at Conwell-Egan next school year, but is preparing to send him to Neshaminy High School, just in case the school loses its appeal, which is scheduled for this week.
Daniels said she or her husband, Frank, will attend a parent information night at Conwell-Egan on Tuesday, where representatives from area Catholic and private high schools plan to set up informational tables from 6 to 8 p.m. Those schools also are scheduling open houses later this month.
While she’d like to keep him in a school with Catholic values included in his education, she said she might not have any other option but to send her youngest to Neshaminy because of financial and transportation concerns.
Besides, her son is less than thrilled about taking the long bus ride to Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster from Middletown, she said, adding that a car drive alone is 45 minutes, so on a bus it would take at least an hour.
Chris Kaess said he would like to see his three kids go to a public school. They attend St. Mark in Bristol, one of those slated for closing. He believes Bucks County has the best public schools in the state, and would rather save the money spent on tuition to pay for their college education.
But since the kids live with his ex-wife in Bristol, they go to the school of her choosing, he said.
Kaess, who lives in Warwick, is a Council Rock School District graduate, he said, so he knows “the value of a great public school, and having the best teachers money can buy. ... I don’t mind if St. Mark’s closes. I have been to the school, and feel that the property is highly dilapidated and run down. The facilities are not very good for my children’s best interest. There are no playgrounds, no fields, no land, no library, no honors classes, no permanent art/science teachers, no separation of cafeteria-gymnasium and so on.”
Kaess would also like his children to attend public school for more continuity. If they lived with him, they’d attend classes in the Central Bucks School District, he said. Before they attended St. Mark, they were enrolled at St. Ann, also in Bristol, but that school closed in 2009. Now, they will have to find another school, if the archdiocese doesn’t grant the school’s appeal.
“In seven years, this will be the third time their school will change due to these closures,” he said, “I really wonder what the future holds for the remaining Catholic schools, how many more surprises. Central Bucks schools are not going anywhere soon, and would have given my children much greater consistency and stability. Central Bucks schools are the best in the commonwealth.”
Glad to see that this entire clique is filled with a bunch of bigots.
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