A proposal to merge two Catholic schools in Elma will not move ahead.
Bishop Richard J. Malone declined to give his blessing to the plan, saying in a letter to Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Vincent de Paul schools that the proposed merger did not contain “compelling evidence” to reverse his Jan. 15 announcement closing both schools at the end of the academic year.
Malone, however, did grant a request from the Elma parishes to operate an early learning childhood center for three- and four-year-old children at the Annunciation School site.
Annunciation School on Clinton Street and St. Vincent de Paul School on Seneca Street were among 10 schools slated for closure, as part of a Catholic Diocese of Buffalo effort to confront declining enrollments by consolidating buildings.
Parish leaders said the closings would create an undue hardship for Catholic school children in Elma, who would have to travel long distances by bus to get to other Catholic schools.
They submitted a proposal to the bishop asking that kindergarten through eighth grade remain open at St. Vincent de Paul, and that Annunciation host an enhanced pre-kindergarten program.
Across Erie County, enrollment in kindergarten through eighth grade in Catholic schools has fallen by 5,711, or 41 percent, since 2003-04.
Annunciation had 103 students enrolled in 2012-13, and St. Vincent de Paul had 161 students.
Diocesan officials said at the time of the closing announcements that demographics for the Elma area did not show the potential for enrollment growth.
email: jtokasz@buffnews.com
Bishop Richard J. Malone declined to give his blessing to the plan, saying in a letter to Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Vincent de Paul schools that the proposed merger did not contain “compelling evidence” to reverse his Jan. 15 announcement closing both schools at the end of the academic year.
Malone, however, did grant a request from the Elma parishes to operate an early learning childhood center for three- and four-year-old children at the Annunciation School site.
Annunciation School on Clinton Street and St. Vincent de Paul School on Seneca Street were among 10 schools slated for closure, as part of a Catholic Diocese of Buffalo effort to confront declining enrollments by consolidating buildings.
Parish leaders said the closings would create an undue hardship for Catholic school children in Elma, who would have to travel long distances by bus to get to other Catholic schools.
They submitted a proposal to the bishop asking that kindergarten through eighth grade remain open at St. Vincent de Paul, and that Annunciation host an enhanced pre-kindergarten program.
Across Erie County, enrollment in kindergarten through eighth grade in Catholic schools has fallen by 5,711, or 41 percent, since 2003-04.
Annunciation had 103 students enrolled in 2012-13, and St. Vincent de Paul had 161 students.
Diocesan officials said at the time of the closing announcements that demographics for the Elma area did not show the potential for enrollment growth.
email: jtokasz@buffnews.com