Merger might alleviate woes of Catholic school system

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Dec 20, 2001 | by Hollnagel, Gayda

The closing of Holy Trinity School in La Crosse next fall is among the options, that officials at Coulee Catholic Schools will consider as they try to strengthen the system's financial position amid declining enrollment.

John Carlucci, administrator of Coulee Catholic Schools, said Wednesday the system is operating at a deficit. Officials are meeting with parents and parishioners to discuss ways to become more costeffective.

"Our vision is to solidify our foundation so we can continue to provide excellent Catholic education in the future," he said.

Carlucci said no decisions have been made concerning Holy Trinity, at 13th and Park Avenue, but one option includes merging Holy Trinity with Cathedral School at 1319 Ferry St. The school would be operated by both parishes, he said, and classes would meet in the muchnewer Cathedral building.

The change would be viewed as a merger rather than school closing, he said. Two other parish schools, St. Thomas More and St. Pius X, were merged into Mary, Mother of the Church School two years ago, when the unified school system was created. The two parishes also were merged into Mary, Mother of the Church Parish.

Carlucci said he and other school officials met Monday night with Holy Trinity parents and parishioners to discuss the situation.

"They're very passionate about their parish, and they're very loyal," he said of the parishioners' response. "They talked about tradition and the good qualities of Holy Trinity parish, of which there are many."

Carlucci said some of the reasons for considering the merger include declining enrollment at Holy Trinity and the presence of four Catholic grade schools on the city's South Side.

"When we look at the demographics and other factors, it falls at Holy Trinity," Carlucci said.

Bishop Raymond Burke, who will make the final decision about any changes, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Carlucci said he expects any changes for the next school year will be announced by the end of January or early February.

Holy Trinity's enrollment for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade is 89 this year, compared with 122 in the 2000-2001 school year, he said. Cathedral School had 162 students last year, This year's enrollment is 160.

Of the four grade schools, only Blessed Sacrament at Losey Boulevard and King Street had an enrollment increase, with 309 students this year, up from 287 in 2000-2001.

Mary, Mother of the Church School, which is in the Holy Cross Diocesan Center on East Avenue behind Shelby Mall, has 196 students this year, compared with 200 last year.

Carlucci said school officials met with Mary, Mother of the Church parishioners, earlier this fall to discuss moving Mary, Mother of the Church preschool and kindergarten from the old St. Thomas More school building on Weston Street to the diocesan center facility. That change will be made for the next school year, in fall 2002.

St. James School on La Crosse's North Side also lost students, with enrollment of 89 this year, compared with 98 last year. School officials also will meet Jan. 3 with parents and parishioners at St. Patrick's in Onalaska to discuss the continued decline in enrollment at Middle School North, a seventh- and eighth-grade program housed at St. Patrick's. Enrollment has dropped at the site from 46 last year to 25 this year, Carlucci said.

Officials last year made an aggressive push to boost enrollment at Middle School North and warned at the time that unless more students were enrolled, the program would be discontinued.

St. Patrick's also has a grade school with 119 students enrolled this year, down from 139 last year.

Enrollment has declined at Aquinas High School and Aquinas Middle School, also known as the Middle School South campus, as well. The high school enrollment is 471, compared with 506 last year. The middle school has 207 students, down from 216 in 2000-2001.

Overall, the pre-kindergarten through grade 12 system is down more than 100 students from last year, Carlucci said.

He said plans for building a grade school in Holmen still are being discussed, but construction is unlikely until the Coulee Catholic School system is in a more stable position.