Thursday, November 19, 2009

Seven Schools in "Consultation"

Melvin's wife, Irma, came by and dropped off her copy of the Catholic Standard.

According to the Standard (and it wasn't the cover story even), there are SEVEN schools in "consultations" due to the declining enrollment and financial challenges. Now, we can't say there is a possibility of closing or merger because what you read on the blogs are rumors, as Superintendent Patricia Weitzel-O'Neill told the St. Catherine audience the other night.

The schools are:
  • St. Hugh of Grenoble (Greenbelt)
  • St. Jerome (Hyattsville)
  • St. Mark the Evangelist (Hyattsville)
  • St. Michael (Ridge)
  • St. Michael the Archangel (Silver Spring)
  • St. Jude (Rockville)
  • St. Catherine Laboure (Wheaton)
How many of these will be around after June? St. Jude's will probably be around, given the fact that St.Catherine is just a couple of miles down the road. St. Michael the Archangel may have their students go to Our Lady of Sorrows in the People's Republic of Takoma Park or one of the other nearby schools. The schools in Hyattsville and St. Hugh may be merged into one. Maybe that is the Trinity?

If your child goes to a school with low enrollment, you had better be prepared for one of these "consultations" next year. My source tells me that there are as many as "seven" on the list for "consultations" for next year.

Correction: One of my readers pointed out that Our Lady of Sorrows was taken over by Christo Rey. He/she is correct.

Update: This story now appears on the Catholic Standard website, in case you decide not to get a paper copy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again I implore parents and parishoners to QUESTION the Archdiocese! Please take action! Do not roll over accept this fate. Find Lawyers and Canon Lawyers, ask them what your rights are. The Archdiocese loves your passive, uneducated respone to their strong-arm approach. They do not hold all the cards. The future of our Archdiocese is truly in your hands. If you just roll over and die, what will stop this anti-family, anti-child group disguising themselves as concerned Catholics. Remeber, these are the same folks that brought you The Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Only massive bad publicity caused them to look twice at how CCHD used your money! Our Archdiocese is acting just a bit too much like Sol Lewinsky socialists. Faith is just plain annoying when there is money to be made. Contact the media. Bring reporters to your schools. Organize a Tea Party at the Archdiocene Headquaters and call the media!!! Once these schools are gone, they will never come back. Maybe that's the objective.

Anonymous said...

Washington DC Catholic correct me if I'm wrong. Our Lady of Sorrows is now the Don Bosco Cristo Rey Highschool I think. Am I right or am I wrong.

Anonymous said...

We would like to direct some questions to Patricia Weitzel-O'Neil, the Superintendent of Catholic schools. How much money was spent at St. Francis DeSales school the last year that it existed as a Catholic school. We are not picking on this school, but we would point out that this school closed as a Catholic school one year and then closed as a charter school the next year. Now it stands empty. It would be good if some of the money that was wasted on this school was available to save some of our Catholic schools now. Why are people such as yourself and Thomas Burnford still employed by the Archdiocese of Washington. You are the ones who advocated spending millions in a futile attempt to prop up many failing city Catholic schools. You failed to save those schools, and now as a result of your wreckless spending, we do not have enough money to assist schools which could have had a chance at survival if it was not for the likes of you.If you have any decency left please, please resign.

Anonymous said...

A lot of the Archdiocese reckless spending has been on social agencies that have NOTHING to do with Catholicism. Check out "Catholics United for the Faith" and Catholic Charities. These organizations USE our money for political and social services, while our schools and parishes are made to suffer and close. Shame on you Archdiocese! Your first committment should be to our parish schools, the back bone of Catholicism. You use parishoners like serfs. You TAKE and do not give. We dare you to open up your FINANCIAL books to the truly faithful Catholics in our Archdiocese. You all need to go!!!!!! YOU USE CORRUPT PRACTICES TO BANKRUPT SCHOOLS AND PARISHES. Time to reconsider your priorities!!!!