ONEONTA (NY)
Daily Star
By Jake Palmateer
Staff Writer
ONEONTA — St. Mary’s School in Oneonta’s East End is, like other area schools, getting ready for the return of students.
Classrooms have been decorated, the halls are spotless, and a janitor was making final adjustments Thursday.
But as summer recess comes to a close, St. Mary’s, which has 180 students in preschool through eighth grade, is doing something a little different to help drum up school pride and attract students.
A short distance from the private Catholic school on busy state Route 7, a large billboard promoting the 81-year-old institution will greet westbound travelers for the next month. ...
She said the billboard idea was conceived in part because of the clergy sexual abuse controversy within the Roman Catholic Church.
LaMonica said a small minority of priests nationwide had damaged the credibility of the church and its affiliated parochial schools.