Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
Two more parochial elementary schools in Delaware County will close their doors forever at the end of this school year.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia made it official Tuesday night, with the announcement that Our Lady of Charity in Brookhaven and St. Philomena’s in Lansdowne would be shuttered when school ends this year.
You can read our full story on the decision here.
It’s the same, old culprit that has eviscerated so many archdiocesan schools in the county in the last decade. Enrollment is down. And costs are up.
Archdiocese officials indicated that only 89 children had re-registered for classes next fall at Our Lady of Charity, and 88 at St. Philomena’s.
They said that in order to be viable with such enrollments, serious cuts would have to be made in the curriculum, including art, phys ed and library services.
In 2005 Our Lady of Charity had an enrollment of 288; they were down to
176 this year.
At St. Philomena’s, it was a similar story, with 196 students going through the doors in 2005, just 141 this year.
That will not make the decision any easier to take.
Several people have already left comments on the story on our website.
At Our Lady of Charity, clearly one person was unhappy with the announcement back in January that the school was in bad shape.
“I think he (Father Izzo) was put there for one purpose and that was to close the school, followed by the church. I’ve seen this writing on the wall before! Sad day for the members.”
Another commenter said the decisions left one to question their faith.
“It is simply sad. To be blindsided by downtown makes me question my faith. I wonder what school they will recommend for us. Does it have the incredible teachers we have? The Specials? Honors Math? The grounds for the kids to run around on at recess? Tell me when was the decision made? Why and how?”
It is not the first time such feelings have been vented. Unfortunately, it likely will not be the last either.
Comments