They're Friar'd up over school closings

First they shed more than a few tears.

Then they got mad.

This morning they are taking action.

Now comes the hard part.

No one expected the loyal staff and alumni from Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast high schools to go quietly after they found themselves on the hit list developed by a blue-ribbon commission that examined the education system of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

Bonner-Prendie was one of four high schools and seven grade schools in Delaware County targeted for closure.

As you can expect, that news did not sit especially well with students, staff, and alumni.

No sooner had word leaked out Friday morning than an online petition popped up in efforts to save the school.

You can sign on to the effort here.

Yesterday at the school, they held a service and Principal Bill Brannick and President the Rev. James Olson explained the school is currently in the process of evaluating grounds for a possible appeal. They stressed it's 'possible.' Right now they have not decided to file one or not.

You can read the story here.

Yes, there is an appeals process. In the blur of Friday’s announcement, that issue became a bit clouded. Archbishop Charles Chaput indicated he was accepting the commission’s recommendations, which seemed to seal the fate of the 44 elementary schools, along with the four high schools.

There will be an appeals process and the archdiocese has indicated it will offer more details to the affected schools soon.

Brannick, who ironically has been through this before – he was a student at St. James High School in Chester when it closed its doors and he had to transfer to Bonner – has said officials at Bonner and Prendie likely will make a decision later this week whether to seek an appeal.

Many alums have already made their decision. They’re outraged. A group of them will join us Wednesday night for our weekly live-stream Internet broadcast, Live From the Newsroom. Make sure you log on to DelcoTimes.com Wednesday night at 7 and take part in the live chat.

This morning students from both Bonner and Prendie rallied in front of the school.

Only a person of little faith would tell them they don’t have a prayer.

Some may have thought the commission’s recommendations were the final chapter in this long-playing saga of declining enrollment and increasing costs that is slowly strangling Catholic education, especially in the eastern end of Delaware County.

But Bonner and Prendie are vowing not to go down without a fight.

Panda Pride. Friar’d up.

This story is far from ending. Stay tuned.