Ukrainian parochial school in Northampton, Pa., may be forced to close at end of school year (02/08/04)

Ukrainian parochial school in Northampton, Pa.,
may be forced to close at end of school year

by Roma Hadzewycz

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Another Ukrainian parochial school may be forced to close its doors soon due to financial considerations. Teachers and parents at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Northhampton, Pa., were informed in January that the school will close at the end of the current academic year.

Teachers were called to a meeting on January 6, after Epiphany services, by the Very Rev. David Clooney and told of the closing. Faculty, staff and parents also received a brief three-sentence letter from the pastor of St. John's Church.

"It is with regret that I have to announce that St. John the Baptist School will not be able to continue in operation beyond the end of this school year (2003-2004), that is June 9, 2004," the Rev. Clooney wrote in the January 6 letter. "After extensive consultation regarding the finances of St. John's Parish, Archbishop Stefan Soroka has given his permission to close the school. I share with you in the sadness of such a decision and its necessity, given the tremendous financial burden on the parish."

The general public learned of the school's imminent closing from the February 3 issue of The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., which carried a story by Kathy Lauer-Williams headlined "Northampton parish shocked that school is closing this year; Ukrainian Archdiocese of Philadelphia cites financial reasons."

The 52-year-old school, which encompasses preschool through grade 8, currently has 90 elementary students, plus 10 in preschool. Thirty percent of the students are parishioners.

The school's principal, Michael Duda, said he was told the parish had borrowed $100,000 to pay for the school's expenses through the end of the year. However, Mr. Duda said he was surprised to learn of the loan, as the church had just made costly improvements at the school. Thus, there was no indication of serious financial difficulty, he told The Weekly. He also noted that he was never informed of the finances as he was told by the Rev. Clooney that finances were the pastor's concern.

Mr. Duda, who is in his 16th year at the school - and his sixth as principal - told The Morning Call, "It was like the rug was pulled out from under our feet." He added, "Everybody is up in arms. Nobody knows what's going on. Things have been fantastic over the past five years."

The Allentown newspaper also quoted Tina Wolbach of Lehigh Township, the mother of a third-grader, as saying: 'We had no inkling. It was like a bombshell. We were all devastated, then angry about such a sudden decision without any warning."

Contacted by The Ukrainian Weekly, Mr. Duda explained: "There was always a financial struggle (as all parochial schools face), and things got tighter with price increases for health insurance. It seems they just looked at it and decided to throw in the towel."

The principal told The Weekly that his proposal to raise the tuition during the previous two years had been rejected by the pastor. He explained that raising the tuition, which now stands at $950 for parishioners and $1,350 for non-parishioners, could go a long way toward covering the $100,000 needed for the current academic year. "I know we could raise the funds. They're just not giving us any time or the details we need to know." Of the unexpected announcement of the school's closing he said: "It's all backwards - so that we couldn't plan ahead."

Mr. Duda sent his own letter to the parents of the schoolchildren on January 8:

"It is with much regret and sadness that I must inform you of Father Clooney's decision to close St. John's School at the end of the current school year. This decision comes as a complete shock, given the progress the school has made in the past few years and the future plans that have been made by Father Clooney himself.

"Father did not include me in any discussions on this decision. I was told the same time as the teachers were on January 6, 2004, in a very brief meeting that lasted about five minutes.

"The only details that were disclosed was that the savings account of St. John's Church was depleted to such an extent by the school budget that money had to be borrowed to complete the school year. Formal details of the budget were not provided."

He concluded his letter by stating:

"This decision to close the school raises many questions that need to be answered. I am currently seeking an audience with Metropolitan Stefan Soroka to discuss the poor and uncompassionate handling of the situation. Father Clooney was also adamantly opposed to any attempt to prevent the closing of the school. This is a complete change of heart from Father's impassioned speech given at the recent Christmas program. I personally find it very hard to believe the church was approaching bankruptcy without anyone noticing. The plans to renovate the church and install an elevator make it clear that the finances had to be inspected by the church's finance committee and reported to the metropolitan. The school could have been given a chance to address the situation years ago. Unfortunately, for some reason, the school was excluded from all discussions involving its own fate.

"I plan to schedule a school meeting in the near future to discuss any options that may arise from my meeting with Metropolitan Stefan, although I fear that Father Clooney has seen to the finality of the school's closing."

Mr. Duda told The Weekly that indeed a meeting with the metropolitan has been scheduled for February 16 and he underscored that he is determined to come to the meeting with a concrete plan to save the school. "In the past few years we have really created a community; we have good rapport between the families and the teachers. This has united us even more, and we are going to fight this," he said. He also emphasized that the school's enrollment was actually growing and that the parish rolls, too, had grown due to the school. In fact, he said, these new parishioners participate in parish life and contribute their time.

"There is a chance that we can save the school. We have to raise $100,000 every year. That's do-able," Mr. Duda explained. "We can begin by raising tuition. And we have a lot of ideas." He noted that parents are willing to pay higher tuition - $75 per month more or even higher. They will also hold fund-raisers and will add a night shift to the "pyrogy program" that brings in money.

By February 16, he said with determination, "we will have a plan and we will have started work on it."

Contacted by The Morning Call, the Rev. Clooney declined to comment on the school's closing. The Ukrainian Weekly contacted the Metropolitan's Chancery in Philadelphia for comment, but was told by Sister Lydia that Metropolitan-Archbishop Soroka was not available as he was not in Philadelphia.

In the meantime, an undated letter (labeled as correspondence No. 682/2003 CH) from the Metropolitan Archeparchy of Philadelphia addressed to the principal, staff and parents was received at St. John's School on February 2. In the letter Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka states that the pastor and parish leaders "have determined that continued financial support of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School is an impossible burden for St. John Ukrainian Catholic Church."

The metropolitan goes on to say that "it is sad to come to the realization that the present situation of providing a significant subsidy to operate the school cannot continue," adding, "I support the recommendation of Rev. Archpriest David Clooney, his parish trustees and members of the Parish Stewardship Committee to unfortunately begin the process to close St. John Ukrainian [sic] the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School at the end of this school year."

Metropolitan Soroka concludes his letter by stating: "I pray for your peaceful and reasoned acceptance of a decision which we all recognize as unfortunate and painful, but inevitable at this time. Particularly, our concern should be for a peaceful transition for the children, unencumbered by unnecessary stress from this decision. God bless you!"

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Readers who may be interested in helping St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School may contact the school at 1357 Newport Ave., Northampton, PA 18067; phone, (610) 262-2231; fax (610) 262-2274.

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