PHOTO SHOWCASE: Catholic grade schools marked for closing – Through the years
Officials with Catholic grade schools marked for closing echoed the Omaha Archdiocese in stressing that the proposal remains subject to change.
But several school officials also said Thursday they hope to sway the final outcome.
"We'll go through it, we'll endure it," said Marlan Burki, principal of All Saints School near 10th and William Streets. "As a school, we need to set forth some proposals why we are important enough to keep going within the archdiocese."
The archdiocese's draft plan is for schools primarily east of 72nd Street. It proposes closing six elementary schools and placing a half-dozen mostly southeast Omaha schools in a system with a common school board and executive director.
The draft was prepared as part of a strategic planning effort the archdiocese launched last summer. Officials shared the draft this week with representatives of Omaha Catholic schools.
Archdiocesan officials also emphasized that the draft was a first attempt at discussing options and was "highly subject to change."
But the proposal created a stir Thursday nonetheless.
Under the draft, All Saints, Holy Ghost, St. Joan of Arc, Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Stanislaus would close by 2013.
Holy Name School also would close, according to the report, though no timetable was set.
Holy Name officials released a statement Thursday reiterating that the statements in the draft are just proposals designed to initiate discussion and spark additional options for schools.
"As of today it is business as usual," the statement read. Both the school and the parish are open and working diligently on plans for the 2012-13 school year and beyond, school officials said.
Sofia Kock, principal of Holy Name, said the announcement of draft proposals was premature. "We're putting out a lot of fires today," she said Thursday.
She said school leaders have better options to recommend and are hoping for a different outcome. Holy Name is an anchor in northeast Omaha, and it would be a travesty to close it, Kock said.
The school encouraged parishioners and others who want to share information about Holy Name's strengths and the place the school and parish hold in their lives to contact Meitler Consultants, the Wisconsin-based consulting firm working on the plan, or the archdiocese's superintendent of schools.
Kayleen Wallace, principal of St. Joan of Arc, said the school near 74th and Hascall Streets is sending home letters to families Thursday explaining the information the school received.
Meantime, it's business as usual at the school.
"This is not the time to panic," Wallace said. "This is a proposal, and we're just going to keep doing what we do best, and that's educating kids."
Dana Martin, Holy Ghost's principal, said the school near 52nd and Q Streets had gotten a lot of calls from families, alumni and friends.
The schools and parishes in the study area have been kept up to date throughout the process, she said.
"But it was a little shocking to have so many schools recommended," she said. "We have no idea what will go on going forward. Of course, everyone hopes that their school will not close. Ultimately what we have to do now is what's best for our children, our families and our communities. We know that God will take care of everything."
Said Burki, the All Saints principal: "In the long run, this appears to be a benefit for the whole archdiocese. Just the short term hurts."
Indeed, archdiocesan officials expect — and encourage — people to come back before meetings in March with alternatives, said Deacon Tim McNeil, the archdiocese's chancellor.
The final report will be submitted to Omaha Archbishop George Lucas in April.
Lucas will discuss it with advisers and decide whether to implement all or parts of the plan, McNeil said. He'll also consider time frames.
Efforts would be made to find places for Holy Name students in other Catholic schools, according to the draft report. Students from the other schools that could close would be encouraged to attend Catholic schools in a six-school system that would be set up largely in southeast Omaha no later than July 2013.
The half-dozen Catholic schools in what the archdiocese calls the urban northeast would remain parish schools for at least five years. If the new six-school system is successful, McNeil said, the northeast schools could be brought into that fold.
The strategic planning effort as a whole focuses on 18 elementary schools and 37 parishes, most east of 72nd Street.
Enrollment at those schools in kindergarten through eighth grade declined by 29 percent — almost 1,000 students — from the 2005-06 school year to the current academic year.
Eight of the 18 schools now enroll fewer than 150 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The report said school enrollment of less than 200 is not sustainable for the long term.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1223, julie.anderson@owh.com
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