Archdiocese of New York officials said they’re pulling the plug on 27 Catholic schools serving more than 3,600 students yesterday — including 13 schools in the City.
The schools had been among 32 warned this fall that their subsidies might dry up as a result of low enrollment, but officials have since granted a reprieve to four schools and delayed action on a fifth.
Good Shepherd in Manhattan was among the saved schools, while a decision on the fate of Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Manhattan is pending.
The remaining schools — six in the Bronx, four on Staten Island, three in Manhattan and 14 in counties outside the City — will close in June.
The closures — which follow a decade-long trend of dwindling enrollment and school shutterings— will reduce the Archdiocese’s deficit by roughly $10 million, officials said.
“These difficult decisions will ensure the sustainability of our Catholic schools for future generations and provide us with opportunities that will ultimately increase the number of students who can benefit from a faith-based, quality education,” said superintendent of schools Dr. Timothy McNiff.
The following schools will close in June 2011, at the end of the current academic year:
Bronx Schools Closing:
Saint Augustine
Saint John Vianney
Saint Martinof Tours
Saint Dominic
Saint Anthony-Saint Frances
SaintPius V Girls High School
Staten Island Schools Closing:
Saint Margaret Mary
Saint Sylvester
Saint Roch
Saint Mary
Manhattan Schools Closing:
Saint Joseph of the Holy Family
All Saints
Our Lady of Sorrows
Westchester/Putnam Schools Closing:
Saint Ann, Ossining
Saint Anthony of Padua, West Harrison
Christ the King, Yonkers
Saint Bartholomew, Yonkers
Saint Mary, Yonkers
Saint Joseph, Croton Falls
Saint John the Evangelist, Mahopac
Sacred Heart School for the Arts, Mount Vernon
Saints Peter and Paul, Mount Vernon
Upper Counties (Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland, Sullivan, Orange) Schools Closing:
Sacred Heart, Highland Falls (Orange County)
Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Cornwall-on-Hudson (Orange County)
Saint Joseph, New Windsor (Orange County)
Saint Augustine, Highland (Ulster County)
Saint Joseph, Middletown (Orange County)
The number of students at these elementary schools is 3,652, which represents 7 percent of those enrolled in Catholic elementary schools in the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, and Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Sullivan, Orange, Dutchess and Ulster counties.