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January 23, 2020By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
WORCESTER – Frustration about uncertainty and unsatisfactory answers, and concerns about teachers, students and decision-making, were among issues raised about a planned school merger.
Parents, teachers and faculty aired thoughts at a listening session Wednesday night at Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School. The school is to be merged with St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School for 2020-21 academic year.
Another listening session was to be held at St. Peter-Marian at 7 p.m. Thursday. Listening sessions for parents of prospective students are scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 28 at St. Peter-Marian and 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Holy Name. Sessions for others are to come later.
Wednesday David Perda, superintendent of schools, attempted to address frequently asked questions before respectfully responding to audience members’ sometimes-heated complaints.
“I encourage you reach out with questions or ideas,” he said in his presentation. ”I think the toughest part of all this … is the uncertainty.”
He said he thought they could agree on their desire for an excellent, rigorous Catholic school that prepares students for careers and instills a good work ethic in them, and that they leave grounded in the Catholic faith so they can share it. He asked listeners to hang in as this story unfolds.
He had announced last month that the schools will be merged due to declining enrollment. The campus not chosen for the new school is to be sold, and the money reinvested in the new school.
In a letter to students’ families he said he was making the announcement in consultation with the Diocesan Catholic Schools Board and with Bishop McManus’ blessing.
At the listening session, Superintendent Perda apologized for sending that letter just before Christmas, but said delaying it would cause delays later.
A mother complained that the letter informed parents, teachers and the public at the same time; her husband learned of the merger through the media.
“That shows the lack of respect you have for the parents and teachers,” she said.
Superintendent Perda said the intent was to control the message, so everyone received it at the same time.
One parent asked what other avenues were explored, such as lowering tuition, and expressed an interest in seeing a comparison of tuition increases and enrollment decreases.
Superintendent Perda responded that the revenue flow impacts costs like faculty salaries and technological resources.
“We need to solve that somehow,” he said, adding that he would love to have tuition-free schools, but revenue would be needed.
A parent said that as Catholic schools, they must think outside the box, like Holy Name has done in getting donations for the auditorium and lab.
Someone questioned whether donations will decrease with the closing of a school full of things donors paid for.
“Nothing gets done well when it’s done too quickly,” said David Wilbur, the father of two Holy Name students. He suggested delaying the merger for a year.
“We’ve come here for answers” and aren’t getting them, he said. Listeners applauded him, as they sometimes did with other audience members’ comments.
Cristianna Giovanangelo, a Holy Name junior, asked the superintendent if students can talk with him. Another junior said students don’t know the decision-makers.
Superintendent Perda said he’d be happy to meet with students with his team.
A parent asked who is making the decisions.
Superintendent Perda said a steering committee not yet filled reports to him, and he reports to Bishop McManus.
He had spoken in his presentation about a steering committee of experts that would not include parents or staff members from either school, to prevent bias. Input from them would come at the next level down, he said.
“You’re talking about cutting us out as a community,” a woman said during the session; decisions will be made by people who don’t know anything about the community.
Sarah Callinan, Holy Name choral director and a member of the Class of 1999, suggested having a balanced number of people from each school participate in decision making.
She also expressed concern about faculty with children in the school losing jobs, and asked if tuition reimbursements would be honored.
Superintendent Perda said he thought they could be reasonable about that; sometimes they need to go beyond the policy.
(He told The Catholic Free Press that teachers’ benefits include free tuition for their own children, which ends if they leave the job. But, given the merger circumstances, he thought exceptions could be made.)
Asked afterwards for her thoughts about the session, Ms. Callinan said, “I am grateful that members of the diocese were willing to meet with us in person., but I am disappointed in the lack of answers. …
“In general I am in favor of a merger, but the way this merger is being handled, I have very little faith in the outcome. I wish they would take more time and consideration in making this decision. … I would like to see members of both school communities have a say in what the merged school is going to look like.”
“I do have hope for the school … that it can be stronger,” said a teacher. Students involved in the merger can look back someday and see the role they played, he said.
He also expressed appreciation for the audience’s concern for teachers.
Audience members had asked about teachers not knowing about the future of their jobs.
“As a Catholic institution you have to support these people” and form a plan, one person said.
Anna Camfield, a Holy Name senior, told The Catholic Free Press afterwards that she was happy the audience came to the faculty’s defense.
“I love a majority of my teachers,” she said. If she was a teacher, she’d want to know if she had a job, she said.
Many seniors are “chilling out,” figuring the merger won’t affect them, she said. But she is concerned about leaving behind her brother, a sophomore, as “I have a very strong feeling it’s going to be a mess.”
Jennifer Mahlert, the mother of two Holy Name students, told The Catholic Free Press she was going to send her seventh-grader there next year – if there’s a plan in place.
“If we’re going on visions, she’s not coming,” she said.
“It’s also scaring (other) prospective students … because there’s a lack of communication from the diocese,” she said. She also spoke of high school tuition rising from $9,100 to $9,500.
(Superintendent Perda told The Catholic Free Press that tuition for the new school is in between those of Holy Name and St. Peter-Marian, which now charges $9,850 for high school.)
John Hester told The Catholic Free Press that he and his wife, Louise, pay the tuition for their two grandchildren at Holy Name, and worried about how tuition increases will affect grandparents on fixed incomes. He asked whether money from the campus that is sold could be put into an endowment to help with tuition costs.
