This is the article as it appeared inthe Saginaw News tonight.

St. Josaphat to close


Tuesday, August 6, 2002

MIKE ROCHA
THE SAGINAW NEWS




Teacher Mary Kay Letherer-Harten cried while hugging her now former students and their parents Monday outside St. Josaphat Church in Carrollton Township after an hour-long parent meeting.

After weeks of speculation, it was final: St. Josaphat School -- one of Saginaw County's oldest -- will close.

Parish council members and the Rev. Ronald Dombrowski made the official announcement at the private gathering, noting that a last-ditch fund-raising effort to keep the school open fell short.

"It's so hard," said Harten, 42, a St. Josaphat middle school teacher the past four years.

Harten earlier this year turned down a teaching job at St. Thomas Aquinas because she was assured the 89-year-old Josaphat school would remain open.

"As a teacher, these students become your children," she said. "You develop a relationship with them and give them ownership of the classroom. We have had no closure on this.

"We didn't get a chance to say good-bye."

There just weren't enough funds and students to keep the parochial school going, Dombrowski said.

"Parish finances and the high cost of education were the ultimate reasons," said Dombrowski, who is in his second year at St. Josaphat.

"This is the saddest day in the life of the parish. We felt we just couldn't do it anymore. Once enrollment started dropping, our base was gone. This is a deep loss."

Marilyn Klenk, president of the school's PTA for eight years, said that last week's meeting was the death knell for the school.

"We knew it was coming," said Klenk, who with her husband, Kevin, have twin daughters transferring to Carrollton Elementary School.

School bleeding

Word leaked out two weeks ago that officials wanted to shutter the school, which took most families and parishioners by surprise.

A meeting last week confirmed those fears, but left room for a reprieve if enrollment improved and the parish could raise $170,000 in a week. Parishioners contributed about $98,000, but in the end it wasn't enough.

The church could have come up with the necessary funds if given more time, said fourth-grade teacher Linda Nowak.

"We were told a week ago and look, we raised $98,000," said Nowak, who taught at St. Josaphat for 21 years.

"They're trying to blame the parishioners for the school closing. They never told us how bad the situation was. The parents would have banded together. Give us a chance!"

With school starting in less than a month, parents were not waiting and began pulling their children out of St. Josaphat and signing them up at other schools.

Enrollment, as expected, dropped to 34 from 88 in a week.

"With the publicity, people started taking their kids out," said Dombrowski, adding that it was a "possibility" the school would have remained open if the parish had raised the $170,000 and enrollment remained at 88.

Silence hurts

One of the sharpest criticisms of church officials was that they did not tell parishioners and parents the school was in danger of closing until last week.

Officials said little because they hoped enrollment would turn around, said Dombrowski, who along with others contend they informed the community of the school's financial troubles last spring when they asked parishioners to increase their contributions by 10 percent.

The increases did not occur, he said.

However, residents and teachers maintain that school leaders never told parishioners and families the school would fold if they did not see the financial increases.

They also said the community would have reacted more favorably with contributions if they would have known the school could founder.

Even teachers, who raised concerns during the school year and as late as July, were told by Dombrowski the school would not close, Nowak said.

"We stayed out of loyalty," Harten said.

Nowak commuted everyday from Beaverton.

"I moved up north and continued to work here. That says a lot about our program," said Nowak, who like Harten is now looking for a new job.

Last week, Harten and her daughter, Jillian McManaman, 10, spent a day clearing out Harten's classroom.

"(Jillian) is very sad," Harten said. "She was teary-eyed and then she told me, 'Mama ... this isn't our school anymore."

What's next?

Like a host of other students, Jillian McManaman, a fifth-grader, will attend St. Helen School in Saginaw. Large numbers also will enroll at Carrollton Public Schools.

Still others may attend St. Thomas Aquinas and SS. Peter and Paul in Saginaw Township and St. Stephen in Saginaw.

Both Harten and Nowak praised St. Helen and Carrollton school officials for their efforts to welcome St. Josaphat students.

"They have been wonderful," Harten said.

St. Josaphat teachers, many of whom average about half the salary of their public school colleagues -- had indicated they would've taken pay cuts to keep St. Josaphat open.

Nevertheless, fifth-grade teacher Debbie Stanolis, 43, who now is unemployed, said she feels sorry for the students.

"My disappointment is for the children," she said. "They're losing friends, mentors and role models."

Parents will receive their registration fees back, said Dombrowski, who also pledged St. Josaphat Church will financially assist those families who continue to send their children to a Catholic school.

"We'll continue with fair share ... we'll help out as much as possible," he said.

Officials will release student records to respective schools as soon as St. Josaphat receives the request, Dombrowski said.

Church officials are not sure what they will do with the school building, which they will continue to use for faith formation or catechism classes, Dombrowski said.

Before leaving Monday, school staffers and volunteers took time to show the community their appreciation by changing the school's marquee to read:

"Eighty-nine years of love and support ... we thank you." t

Mike Rocha covers education for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9687.