Schools to restructure

A major restructuring plan for archdiocesan schools was expected to be announced after this edition of The Catholic New World went to press. The restructuring was anticipated to involve school and campus consolidations, mergers and the closure of more than a score of schools.

The goal of the restructuring plan, said Colleen Dolan, archdiocesan director of Communications and Public Relations, is to respond to declining enrollment, rising operating costs and the repair of aging facilities while seeking to improve the long-term viability of the archdiocesan Catholic school system.

A student retention program is also being implemented to help assure that Catholic education remained available for the students in the affected schools.

Cardinal George had been expected to make his final decision following recommendations from archdiocesan officials and parish and school leadership.
The restructuring was the result, said officials, of a lengthy planning process designed to strengthen Catholic education throughout Cook and Lake counties. The archdiocese’s current 276 Catholic elementary and high schools have suffered from a generation of declining enrollment, precipitated by shifts in Catholic populations with school-age children and rising operating costs.

Despite the restructuring and closures, archdiocesan officials said they were committed to assisting parents in the affected schools to enroll their children in other nearby Catholic schools. “Each student will receive a folder containing information on Catholic schools in their areas that will welcome them next year,” said Nicholas Wolsonovich, archdiocesan superintendent of schools. He added that benefits of Catholic education include academic excellence, a 98 percent high school graduation rate with 95 percent of those graduating attending college.

Nevertheless, officials acknowledged that the closures and consolidations would be an emotional event for schools, teachers, staff, parents and children.

Schools have faced serious financial challenges because of increasing operating expenses to keep aging buildings open, said officials. In addition, tuition costs have risen sharply over a generation or more as lay teachers replace the religious sisters who, for the most part, no longer are available to staff schools.

The archdiocese provides $6 million annually to financially needy Catholic schools, said Wolsonovich, while parishes contribute another $70 a year to support their own schools.

Long-term plans to improve the viability of the school system include establishment of a larger tuition-assistance fund, the creation of a capital improvement fund and encouraging parishes to adopt stewardship as a means of support.

Facilities in each of the archdiocese’s six vicariates were expected to be affected. A list of the schools was not available at press time, but as many as 4,500 students could be involved. There are currently more than 106,000 students in the archdiocesan system.

For more information regarding school closures, mergers and consolidations, visit the archdiocesan web site at www.archchicago.org.

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