RSS 2.0 FeedThursday, January 26, 2012, Cover Stories, Merrick Life
Sacred Heart goes to the rally - Save our Schools
Report from the rally site.
Not rain, nor snow, nor sleet or even tiny bits of piercing hail could stop upset Catholic school parents this past Saturday from protesting the slated school closures.
The Diocese of Rockville Centre, led by Bishop William Murphy, announced early last month that six schools would be closing this June: Sacred Heart School in North Merrick, St. John Baptist De LaSalle Regional School in Farmingdale, St. Catherine of Sienna School in Franklin Square, St. Ignatius Loyola School in Hicksville, all in Nassau County, and from Suffolk County, Prince of Peace Regional School in Sayville and Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Lindenhurst.
Merrick Life has been following the attempts by parents of Sacred Heart in their efforts to save the school, a school whose enrollment is on the rise, a school that is financially rebounding and a school whose parents and alumni in early 2011 spent $80,000 refurbishing the school’s gym that will now be taken away from them.
Representatives from all the schools scheduled for closure rallied outside Bishop William Murphy’s residence and St. Agnes Cathedral last Saturday during the first snowfall of the year.
Seeking a reprieve, a reason or a complete reversal from the diocese is what the protesters are seeking. “We will not fold our hands and let this happen without a fight,” Sacred Heart parent Shane Pallotta told this newspaper.
“I haven’t looked for any other option,” said another parent who wished not be named. “If I find a school outside of Sacred Heart, that would be giving up on what has become a part of our family.”
“Researching other options makes it too easy,” said Robert Mays, an uncle of one of the students in the school.
Freeport seventh-grader Kassidy Estrella is upset by the decision. “Just one more year,” she said indicating she’d be graduating with the Class of 2013 – which has been together since the nursery school program at Sacred Heart. Kassidy also has a brother, Zaccariah, who is a fifth-grader at the school. There is a Facebook page, “Save Sacred Heart,” keeping the community, alumni and others informed about about the subject.
Mr. Pallotta, one of the parents spearheading the protest, told Merrick Life, “We did everything we could have done...we got our enrollment up 20% over three years…we raised $120,000 and built an $80,000 gym through a grassroots campaign. I have talked to other schools that raised half of that.”
As stressful as this has been on the parents, it’s the kids that will end up losing if the action stands, parents say. Joining in the protest with signs were many students, including Meaghan O’Keefe (whose dad Brian took to the bullhorn on Saturday, leading the rally), Molly McGoldrick and Steven Hoffman who held a sign that read “Dictatorship of Rockville Centre – Can’t we even talk?” The students are learning at a young age to fight for what they believe.
Seventh-grader James Waldhof’s sign may have asked it best, however: “What would Jesus do?”
A statement from the Diocese of RVC:
“The bishop and his colleagues who share responsibility for Catholic schools look on today’s vigil with understanding and deep respect for the people who gather in front of the Cathedral to express their feelings and their concern for their children. We share the same commitment.
In that spirit of solidarity, the Diocese has been providing opportunities in each of the six schools for parents to learn about nearby Catholic schools that are accepting children whose parents want them to continue in a good Catholic school. There is a space for every one of these children in one or more of the 43 Catholic elementary schools, all of whom offer the same quality Catholic education children and parents have found in their school that will close in June of this year.
The bishop and superintendant of schools have co-written a column in this week’s The Long Island Catholic newspaper that reiterates what the purpose and the goal of these difficult decisions represent. We are grateful for the parents whose love of their children and desire for a Catholic education for those children are so concerned and so desirous for the best for their children.We also are deeply grateful to the principals and teachers, the pastors and the school boards who have collaborated with the diocese and with one another in this time of transition.We all feel the pain but especially we must be attentive to the feelings of the children whose teachers are doing an extraordinary task of personally helping each child through this transition.
The bishop remains committed to his decisions about these six schools based on the recommendations from the Strategic Planning Committee, whose 18-month analysis of the Catholic elementary schools is a valid, objective and fundamentally sound expression of how the church will go forward to strengthen Catholic elementary school education across the diocese for the future.
He asks that all those committed to the children and to Catholic education join together in prayer and mutual collaboration so that these valuable goals can be met in a spirit of mutual trust and Christian love and understanding, and we might all belong more deeply to the Lord and to one another.