A message from Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M.
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
The answer to this question might be “yes” or “no,” depending on a variety of criteria, conditions and circumstances. For our Catholic schools to be sustainable, they must (1) be truly Catholic in every respect; (2) have enrollments at the level determined by the Diocese to be healthy enough to make them financially viable; (3) be financially viable, both short and long term; and, of course, (4) demonstrate academic excellence. It is not enough that our Catholic schools reflect one or two of these criteria. For our Catholic schools to be sustainable, they must evidence all four of these criteria in an enduring way.
Most Catholics are well aware of the circumstances and decisions confronting Catholic schools and parishes all over the United States, with multiple closings and mergers. As I have often said, the Diocese of Trenton cannot hold itself as an exception to this experience. Twinning and merging of parishes are already occurring in the four counties; pastors are now assuming administrative responsibilities for multiple parishes and churches; the first parish Catholic school since 2009 has closed and several more are “at risk” within the next year or two.
Closing a Catholic school is a profoundly difficult and painful experience for all concerned. No Bishop wants to close a Catholic school. I certainly do not. My whole career as a priest has been in the field of Catholic education. I can assure you that no decision to close a Catholic school in our Diocese is made without a great deal of thought, prayer, analysis and even anxiety. But, given the current state of affairs in our Church, the closing of some Catholic schools is inevitable and, again, the Diocese of Trenton is and will be no exception.
Given the controversy and public outcry that surrounded the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s announcement regarding Catholic primary and secondary school closures last year, I decided to form a commission to study the sustainability of our Catholic primary schools in the Diocese. I appointed two well-experienced, leading national experts from The Center for the Advancement of Catholic Education at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., to guide this commission’s work under the chairmanship of the Vicar for Catholic Education of the Diocese of Trenton. At least one of these two consultants visited each Catholic elementary school in the Diocese. The commission itself was made up of parents/PTA members, pastors, professional educators, finance and marketing professionals, lawyers and diocesan staff members.
Questionnaires were widely distributed and the commission received responses from 3,932 families, 795 school faculty and staff members and 86 pastors or parish priests. Thousands of individuals in the Diocese, including parents, parishioners, clergy, educators and so forth played a role in various aspects of the commission’s study and work and contributed to the shaping of the commission’s final recommendations to me.
Reviewing these recommendations gives me hope that, in some cases, we may be able to reverse the trend. Each Catholic primary school needs: (1) to have an active and effective school board with subcommittees dealing concretely and realistically with finance, planning, marketing and advancement; (2) an updated strategic plan that focuses upon increasing enrollment and financial viability; (3) an aggressive marketing and retention plan with real followup; (4) an advancement plan for attracting and maintaining committed donors. There is no substitute for the broadest possible “buy-in” and commitment from all interested parties: pastors/priests and parishioners, parents and families, school officials and faculty/staff, donors and those who believe in Catholic education.
Despite the broad level of consultation by the commission and input from throughout the Diocese, I know that when the recommendations are considered and decisions to close have to be made and are announced there will be a surge of negative reactions. That is understandable since these decisions will affect families and their children. However, I must say again that such decisions are truly regrettable but not arbitrarily or easily made.
When I established the Sustainability Commission, I stated to the members emphatically that my purpose here was not “to close Catholic primary schools.” Rather, I was searching for whatever evidence of sustainability could be found and applied to our Catholic primary schools, knowing that in some cases, certain Catholic primary schools might not be viable. I gave the members the following mandate:
1. Investigate short and long term viability (sustainability), vitality and vibrancy of the schools.
2. Develop clear and consistent criteria for evaluating the short and long term sustainability of the schools.
3. Identify those schools that appear to be sustainable and those schools that appear to be “at risk.”
4. Create a strategic “sustainability plan” by May 1, 2013.
The Sustainability Commission has fulfilled its mandate and submitted its report and recommendations to me. I, likewise, received a verbal report from the experts appointed as consultants for the commission’s work. In that report, the commission identified the following factors or criteria that, when present, definitely contribute to a school being “at risk:”
PRIMARY FACTORS
1. Current Enrollment and 5-Year Trend: grades K – 8 enrollment is currently less than 220 students; declining enrollment over a 5-year period; a precipitous drop in enrollment between any 2 of the past 5 years;
2. Difference between Tuition and Actual Cost per Student: $2,000 or more;
3. Parish Subsidy Required: Any school that requires over 30% of its sponsoring parish’s annual income to balance the school’s annual budget.
SECONDARY FACTORS
1. Poor student academic performance; 2. Issues with Catholic Identity; 3. Poor leadership of school at the school or parish level; 4. Decline in demographic patterns/ projections for the area; 5. Decline in number of baptisms in feeder parishes.
These are not the only factors considered when assessing the viability and sustainability of a Catholic primary school. Their presence, however, argues against that sustainability and should be a cause for concern according to the commission’s report. Currently, there are 10 Catholic primary schools within the Diocese that give evidence of being “at risk.” That does not necessarily mean that they are all closing although some most likely will. What it does mean is that these Catholic primary schools will need significant and “sustainable” help to remain open.
I will spend the summer months studying the report and recommendations submitted to me by the commission. Some aspects of the report are confidential in nature and will remain so; others will be made public at a time I deem appropriate. Early in the fall 2013, the Vicar for Catholic Education, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools and I will meet with the pastors and principals of “at risk” Catholic primary schools to discuss their sustainability.
The ultimate keys to the sustainability of our Catholic primary schools are and will remain, without question, healthy enrollments and financial viability. That means Catholic parents need to send their children to Catholic primary schools and Catholics, in general, need to believe in and contribute to their financial support. We also need to lobby our legislators for vouchers and parental choice in the matter of educating our children. It is an unfortunate fact of life that our ability to transmit the Catholic faith through Catholic education at all levels but, especially, at the primary level, is inextricably linked to student numbers and financial resources. And the situation we face in our Catholic primary schools now will soon begin to impact our Catholic secondary schools, if it has not begun to already.
This is the world we live in today.
In some cases, the trend can be reversed. In other cases, not. Although the final decisions rest with me, as Bishop of the Diocese, all Catholics need to pray fervently for the future of Catholic education in our Catholic schools.
In his final year as Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: The essential task of authentic education at every level is not simply that of passing on knowledge, essential as this is, but also of shaping hearts. There is a constant need to balance intellectual rigor in communicating effectively, attractively and integrally, the richness of the Church’s faith with forming the young in the love of God (May 5, 2012).
Catholic education in and through our Catholic schools accomplishes that task. To sustain them, wherever and whenever possible, sustains that profound mission. Where they cannot be sustained — and in some, hopefully few cases, that is the sad fact — we must work together to discover other new and fruitful ways to hand on our Catholic faith, heritage and traditions to future generations who need, as Pope Benedict XVI said, to be formed “in the love of God.”
Most Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Bishop of Trenton
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The answer to this question might be “yes” or “no,” depending on a variety of criteria, conditions and circumstances. For our Catholic schools to be sustainable, they must (1) be truly Catholic in every respect; (2) have enrollments at the level determined by the Diocese to be healthy enough to make them financially viable; (3) be financially viable, both short and long term; and, of course, (4) demonstrate academic excellence. It is not enough that our Catholic schools reflect one or two of these criteria. For our Catholic schools to be sustainable, they must evidence all four of these criteria in an enduring way.
Most Catholics are well aware of the circumstances and decisions confronting Catholic schools and parishes all over the United States, with multiple closings and mergers. As I have often said, the Diocese of Trenton cannot hold itself as an exception to this experience. Twinning and merging of parishes are already occurring in the four counties; pastors are now assuming administrative responsibilities for multiple parishes and churches; the first parish Catholic school since 2009 has closed and several more are “at risk” within the next year or two.
Closing a Catholic school is a profoundly difficult and painful experience for all concerned. No Bishop wants to close a Catholic school. I certainly do not. My whole career as a priest has been in the field of Catholic education. I can assure you that no decision to close a Catholic school in our Diocese is made without a great deal of thought, prayer, analysis and even anxiety. But, given the current state of affairs in our Church, the closing of some Catholic schools is inevitable and, again, the Diocese of Trenton is and will be no exception.
Given the controversy and public outcry that surrounded the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s announcement regarding Catholic primary and secondary school closures last year, I decided to form a commission to study the sustainability of our Catholic primary schools in the Diocese. I appointed two well-experienced, leading national experts from The Center for the Advancement of Catholic Education at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., to guide this commission’s work under the chairmanship of the Vicar for Catholic Education of the Diocese of Trenton. At least one of these two consultants visited each Catholic elementary school in the Diocese. The commission itself was made up of parents/PTA members, pastors, professional educators, finance and marketing professionals, lawyers and diocesan staff members.
Questionnaires were widely distributed and the commission received responses from 3,932 families, 795 school faculty and staff members and 86 pastors or parish priests. Thousands of individuals in the Diocese, including parents, parishioners, clergy, educators and so forth played a role in various aspects of the commission’s study and work and contributed to the shaping of the commission’s final recommendations to me.
Reviewing these recommendations gives me hope that, in some cases, we may be able to reverse the trend. Each Catholic primary school needs: (1) to have an active and effective school board with subcommittees dealing concretely and realistically with finance, planning, marketing and advancement; (2) an updated strategic plan that focuses upon increasing enrollment and financial viability; (3) an aggressive marketing and retention plan with real followup; (4) an advancement plan for attracting and maintaining committed donors. There is no substitute for the broadest possible “buy-in” and commitment from all interested parties: pastors/priests and parishioners, parents and families, school officials and faculty/staff, donors and those who believe in Catholic education.
Despite the broad level of consultation by the commission and input from throughout the Diocese, I know that when the recommendations are considered and decisions to close have to be made and are announced there will be a surge of negative reactions. That is understandable since these decisions will affect families and their children. However, I must say again that such decisions are truly regrettable but not arbitrarily or easily made.
When I established the Sustainability Commission, I stated to the members emphatically that my purpose here was not “to close Catholic primary schools.” Rather, I was searching for whatever evidence of sustainability could be found and applied to our Catholic primary schools, knowing that in some cases, certain Catholic primary schools might not be viable. I gave the members the following mandate:
1. Investigate short and long term viability (sustainability), vitality and vibrancy of the schools.
2. Develop clear and consistent criteria for evaluating the short and long term sustainability of the schools.
3. Identify those schools that appear to be sustainable and those schools that appear to be “at risk.”
4. Create a strategic “sustainability plan” by May 1, 2013.
The Sustainability Commission has fulfilled its mandate and submitted its report and recommendations to me. I, likewise, received a verbal report from the experts appointed as consultants for the commission’s work. In that report, the commission identified the following factors or criteria that, when present, definitely contribute to a school being “at risk:”
PRIMARY FACTORS
1. Current Enrollment and 5-Year Trend: grades K – 8 enrollment is currently less than 220 students; declining enrollment over a 5-year period; a precipitous drop in enrollment between any 2 of the past 5 years;
2. Difference between Tuition and Actual Cost per Student: $2,000 or more;
3. Parish Subsidy Required: Any school that requires over 30% of its sponsoring parish’s annual income to balance the school’s annual budget.
SECONDARY FACTORS
1. Poor student academic performance; 2. Issues with Catholic Identity; 3. Poor leadership of school at the school or parish level; 4. Decline in demographic patterns/ projections for the area; 5. Decline in number of baptisms in feeder parishes.
These are not the only factors considered when assessing the viability and sustainability of a Catholic primary school. Their presence, however, argues against that sustainability and should be a cause for concern according to the commission’s report. Currently, there are 10 Catholic primary schools within the Diocese that give evidence of being “at risk.” That does not necessarily mean that they are all closing although some most likely will. What it does mean is that these Catholic primary schools will need significant and “sustainable” help to remain open.
I will spend the summer months studying the report and recommendations submitted to me by the commission. Some aspects of the report are confidential in nature and will remain so; others will be made public at a time I deem appropriate. Early in the fall 2013, the Vicar for Catholic Education, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools and I will meet with the pastors and principals of “at risk” Catholic primary schools to discuss their sustainability.
The ultimate keys to the sustainability of our Catholic primary schools are and will remain, without question, healthy enrollments and financial viability. That means Catholic parents need to send their children to Catholic primary schools and Catholics, in general, need to believe in and contribute to their financial support. We also need to lobby our legislators for vouchers and parental choice in the matter of educating our children. It is an unfortunate fact of life that our ability to transmit the Catholic faith through Catholic education at all levels but, especially, at the primary level, is inextricably linked to student numbers and financial resources. And the situation we face in our Catholic primary schools now will soon begin to impact our Catholic secondary schools, if it has not begun to already.
This is the world we live in today.
In some cases, the trend can be reversed. In other cases, not. Although the final decisions rest with me, as Bishop of the Diocese, all Catholics need to pray fervently for the future of Catholic education in our Catholic schools.
In his final year as Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: The essential task of authentic education at every level is not simply that of passing on knowledge, essential as this is, but also of shaping hearts. There is a constant need to balance intellectual rigor in communicating effectively, attractively and integrally, the richness of the Church’s faith with forming the young in the love of God (May 5, 2012).
Catholic education in and through our Catholic schools accomplishes that task. To sustain them, wherever and whenever possible, sustains that profound mission. Where they cannot be sustained — and in some, hopefully few cases, that is the sad fact — we must work together to discover other new and fruitful ways to hand on our Catholic faith, heritage and traditions to future generations who need, as Pope Benedict XVI said, to be formed “in the love of God.”
Most Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Bishop of Trenton