By Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell
Contra Costa Times
May 19, 2010
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_15112384?nclick_check=1
Eileen Didier and her family have attended every fundraiser at Aquinas High School in past weeks to help ensure the school is still around for decades to come.
After falling thousands of dollars into debt during the school year, the campus on Sterling Avenue in San Bernardino has needed all the help it can get.
In neighboring Fontana, parents held yard sales and Christmas boutiques to keep Resurrection Academy, a Catholic school, afloat. At least two other area schools have closed their doors for good.
As parents lose jobs and contributions from parishioners fall off during the relentless economic downturn, Catholic schools in the Inland Empire and nationwide are struggling."There is no doubt the economy has contributed. It is is upsetting, we don't want to see these schools close because the Catholic education gives a child an incredible foundation and the tools to succeed in life," said Didier, who is also on the task force to save Aquinas.
According to a report recently released by the National Catholic Educational Association, NCEA, Catholic schools recorded a 3.3 percent decrease in enrollment for the 2009-10 school year.
The year saw a decrease of 73,190 students from the prior academic year.
In that same reporting period, 24 new schools opened but 174 schools closed or consolidated.
Overall, enrollment has declined 20.1 percent since 2000.
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| Aquinas High School in San Bernardino, like other Catholic schools in the Inland Empire and across the nation, has been struggling as contributions from parishioners have fallen off during the economic downturn. |
NCEA president Karen Ristau attributes the situation to the serious economic downturn as well as people becoming more secular and less religious - meaning faith-based schools are no longer a high priority. Also a factor is the lost trust in the church itself because of sexual abuse issues.
"You can't say it is any one thing," she said. "It's a lot of things that have come together."
The closing of Catholic schools, many of which have served their communities for decades, will have negative repercussions for years to come, she said.
"School closings are not just an immediate loss for students and families, but a loss for the nation as well," she said. "Catholic schools are recognized for their high academic standards, expectations and moral values.
"Each school closing represents a chipping away at these pillars that sustain flourishing communities."
Currently the Diocese of San Bernardino oversees a total of 31 schools in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The number was higher, but in recent years both Precious Blood School in Banning and St. Mary's Regional Catholic School in Apple Valley have closed.
In both cases, the schools, which served students up to eighth grade, were dealing with declining enrollment.
When it shut its doors in 2008, the long-existing Precious Blood only had 115 students, far below the at least 150 who should be attending, said John Andrews, spokesman for the diocese.
The same was true for St. Mary's. At the time of its closure, attendance was down to about 130.
The closure of both schools left angered and frustrated parents in their wake.
In past years, the diocese would have provided financial assistance, but it too has been impacted by the recession, with many families not able to give as much when the collection plate goes around during Mass, said Andrews.
Resurrection Academy was at a similar critical point in late 2009 but was able to raise money and get enrollment back up.
"If students and parents rally, these schools are not beyond saving," said Andrews.
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