Dazed and Confused

What's with the gold ? What's with all of the pomp and circustance ??
All of the pompous papa stuff reminds me of the "Wizard of Oz". Hey, melt down
some of the stuff, sell the real estate...and put the guilty priests in JAIL.
And BTW, Martin Luther had a good point.

signed,
a dad with a boy in Catholic grammar school and two more young ones to follow....

2/25/2005
Chicago Archdiocese to close 23 schools
By Sarah Schulte
February 24, 2005 — The Chicago Archdiocese plans to close 23 schools by next school year. Thousands of parochial students will be looking for new schools in the fall. Several other schools will consolidate or merge with another school.

The archdiocese said the move is necessary to combat budget shortfalls and declining enrollment. However, some parents and school officials said it jeopardizes the children's educations.

Entire parishes used to fund Catholic schools but now student tuition, grants and fundraisings support them. By closing the schools, 4,100 students and 500 faculty members will be displaced. Curtis Jackson and Shana Windmond just learned their school will close.

"I think they made a bad decision by closing the school down because I've been here a long time. I like this school," said Jackson.

"Well, I know like money is important because, you know, you need somebody to come to. But education is the most important thing," said Windmond.

While low enrollment and a shift in demographics all played a role, money is the main reason why the archdiocese says it can no longer keep the schools open.

"It is painful. I have to watch the school where my parents attended many years ago close," said Cardinal George Francis.

Some parents are not buying the money issue. A group of Riverside parents came to the archdiocese to protest the closing of Mater Christi.

"We obtain absolutely no financial support from the downtown offices. We are totally self-sufficient. We have a parish that is in the black," said Colleen Manika, parent.

"It's not just whether or not they receive a grant from the archdiocese, but it also takes a look at that overall criteria, which is what's their enrollment doing, do they have unpaid bills to the diocese or to other vendors?" said Dr. Nicholas Wolsonovich, supt. of schools.

Many parents hope to change the cardinal's mind. Cardinal George said the archdiocese has not completely shutting the door, but unless there is some windfall of money, the decision is likely to stick.

"They never reversed a decision like this before. I hate to say that there's absolutely no chance because there's always a chance for something. But, you know, they prits much said this is it," said Terry McKenna, principal.

Out of the 4,100 displaced students, the archdiocese believes probably about 40-percent to 50-percent of those will stay within the Catholic school system. The archdiocese said they will go out of their way and have a campaign to get these students to stay in the system.

While many of the schools are in Chicago, Chicago Public Schools said they welcome these students, but they are also experiencing financial problems.

Pilsen, Little Village hit hard by school closings

Half of the schools located in Chicago's Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods are among those being closed. The news was a blow for the parents of many students there.

There are only four Catholic schools in the Pilsen and Little Village community and two of them will close next year. Many of the families feel they have no where to turn.

Alderman Ricardo Munoz said his phone has been ringing non- stop with people looking for answers.

"What's really sad and more devastating to the families is that there is no transitional plan. What are you going to tell families in this school or the other school because you need to make sure when you close down a school, parents have options," said Ald. Ricardo Munoz, 22nd Ward.

The Epiphany School in the Little Village neighborhood has 167 students from pre-school to eighth grade. On Thursday, parents learned the school would be closing.

"We always considered the Epiphany School a place where, you know, your family comes and now it feels like we have to find a new place and start over and it's going to be hard," said Edna Torres, Epiphany parent.

It's a double blow to the Little Village parents. Just six blocks away, the Good Shepherd School, located in the 2700-block of Colins, is also designated to close.

"I don't understand why combing the two wasn't an option. If they've already made the decision, I think it should have been an option and I think we would have been able to save at least one of the schools," said Adriana Roman, Epiphany parent and graduate.

Parents thought they would be removed from the list of struggling schools if they could increase the school's finances. They worked on a number of fundraisers. Laura Rekash, a working mother whose daughter attends the school, is also an Epiphany graduate

"All the parents were so hurt just hearing the school would close. I can't believe that this is actually happening. I thought for sure we would be saved," said Laura Rekash, Epiphany parent and graduate.

Rekash says she has spent the morning trying to find a school for her daughter

"There are limited vacancies for first graders and I feel like I'm going to be forced to make a rash decision," said Rekash.

The principal at Epiphany school will be holding a meeting to inform the parents about the school closing. She said they did everything the archdiocese asked them to do to keep the school open and she wonders where they fell short.

List of schools

These 23 Catholic schools will close:
# BERWYN: St. Mary of Celle, 1448 S. Wesley Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. Bride, 7765 S. Coles Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. Camillus, 5434 S. Lockwood Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. Clotilde, 321 E. 84 th St.
# CHICAGO: Epiphany, 4223 W. 25 th St.
# CHICAGO: St. Felicitas, 1501 E. 83 rd Pl.
# CHICAGO: Good Shepherd, 2725 S. Kolin Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. Helena of the Cross, 10115 S. Parnell Ave.
# CHICAGO: Immaculate Heart of Mary, 3820 N. Spaulding Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. James, 2920 S. Wabash Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. John Berchmans, 2511 W. Logan Blvd.
# CHICAGO: Santa Maria Addolorata, 1337 W. Ohio St.
# CHICAGO: St. Martin De Porres, 5072 W. Jackson Blvd.
# CHICAGO: Our Lady Gate of Heaven, 2330 E. 99 th St.
# CHICAGO: St. Philomena, 4131 W. Cortland Ave.
# CHICAGO: Pope John Paul II Catholic School, 4325 S. Richmond St.
# CHICAGO: Resurrection Catholic Academy, 2845 W. Barry Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. Simon the Apostle, 5135 S. California Ave.
# CHICAGO: St. Thomas More, 8130 S. California Ave.
# CICERO: Our Lady of the Mount, 2400 S. 61st Ave.
# NORRIDGE: Divine Savior, 7750 W. Montrose Ave.
# NORTH RIVERSIDE: Mater Christi, 2400 S. 10 th Ave.
# OAK PARK: St. Edmund, 200 S. Oak Park Ave.

Two schools will close one of their campuses (the schools themselves will remain open at other campus locations):
# CHICAGO: Northside Catholic Academy will close its St. Henry Campus at 6325 N. Hoyne Ave. (there are two other sites);
# DES PLAINES: Our Lady of Destiny Catholic School will close its North Campus at 795 Center St. (there is one other site).

These two schools will consolidate to form one new yet-to-be-named school:
# WAUKEGAN: Immaculate Conception, 510 Grand Ave. (site of new school);
# WAUKEGAN/NORTH CHICAGO: Lake Shore Catholic Academy, 510 Tenth St., Waukegan.

One school will merge with a nearby school:
# CHICAGO: St. Paul/Our Lady of Vilna Catholic School, 2114 W. 22 nd and 2315 W. 24 th Pl., will merge with St. Ann Catholic School, 2211 W. 18 th Pl.