Twenty-six Catholic schools?all but one of which are elementary-level?in New York City are slated for closure. That may not seem like a big number, but the closures will affect some 4,700 students in the Big Apple, and represents the largest school consolidation in the history of the state's archdiocese.
The culprits, as always, are declining enrollment and lack of money. Together, the twenty-seven marked schools received $10 million in subsidies from the archdiocese this past year alone. Putting that into perspective, the remaining 189 parochial schools in NYC only received a total of $13 million in subsidies. That means that the schools to be shuttered took in five times more per school than those who will still be open for learning in September.
It's true that the decline of Catholic schools spells shifts for American education as a whole. And it's true that many of these shifts will be unpleasant. According to a 2008 Fordham report, Catholic school closures have cost U.S. taxpayers at least $20 billion as these errant students get absorbed back into public schools. Further, these fallen Catholic institutions are often located in urban areas and serve poor and minority students?students who will be displaced and sent to other area schools, probably no-good area schools.
But look at the issue from another perspective: In the competitive market, these schools that are slated for closure by the NYC archdiocese have lost. They haven't found ways to stay afloat, they haven't adapted to changing market trends, and they haven't made themselves desirable to parents, students, and supporters. Isn't it better for the Gotham Catholics to do just what they are doing: consolidate, regroup, and push forth with a leaner?and potentially more productive?force?
?Daniela Fairchild
