January 19, 2006

Diocese Announces First Steps in the Strategic Plan

Journey in Faith and Grace

Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, bishop of Buffalo, has unveiled the first steps of the diocesan strategic plan, Journey in Faith and Grace. “We are moving through our initial phases and have made some early decisions that we want to share. These decisions come as the result of much prayer and work and sound thinking,” Bishop Kmiec said.

The bishop expanded to say, “In September 2006, a new Catholic school in South Buffalo will be opened. This school will allow for the stabilization of Catholic education in this area of rich and vibrant Catholic life and will be located on the current campus of St. Martin of Tours. With the opening of a new school, much stronger educational resources will be provided in a facility that is much better positioned for growth and expansion. We will also be able to marshal the resources, provide the material needs, and give attention to a fully staffed school, in order to give our children the best of all we have to offer. Our goals in making changes to Catholic education, as part of the Journey in Faith and Grace, are to ensure that our schools are vibrant places of faith and love that have the material and personnel resources necessary to provide a quality education. We want them to continue to be places of educational excellence that are driven by teaching the basics, as well as today’s and tomorrow’s technology.”

The official closing of St. Thomas Aquinas School and St. Martin of Tours School, both in South Buffalo, will take place after this school year, as will be the case at St. Bonaventure School in West Seneca and St. Anthony School in Batavia.

Discussions have already begun regarding celebrating the schools’ accomplishments and heritage as the school year comes to an end. The new school in South Buffalo will have a new name, new uniforms and a canonical administrator to oversee the support from

the surrounding and involved parishes. Employees who are displaced will all be given consideration for future openings in Catholic schools in the diocese. The principal of the new regional school will make the hiring decisions for that school.

Diane Vigrass, diocesan superintendent of Catholic schools, said “The new Catholic school will strengthen and stabilize the Catholic education presence in South Buffalo, following the successful model used by Trinity Catholic Academy which was opened in 2004. St. Thomas, St. Martin and St. Bonaventure schools all have played a vital role in the education of children over the years. We should celebrate their contributions so they are always visible to everyone who enters the new school. Our priority right now is to make sure that our students, their families, our teachers, administrators and staff members are provided with the necessary information and resources to help ease their transition for the coming school year.”

In its 98-year history, St. Anthony has been known for its excellence, thanks to the dedication of its teachers and administration, as well as the generosity of its pastors and parishioners.

Bishop Kmiec also announced the establishment of an endowment for secondary Catholic education in the Diocese of Buffalo to support Catholic high schools today and into the future. “This is an exciting opportunity. The general purpose of this fund will be to assist families who desire a Catholic education for their high school aged children,” Bishop Kmiec said. “We will work to build this endowment to increase the opportunities for families who recognize the importance of a Catholic education, but may not be in a financial position to make the financial sacrifice to fund their child’s schooling.”

The first step in funding this endeavor is the sale of the former Turner Carroll High School in Buffalo to the Bob Lanier Center for $300,000. Proceeds from the sale will be used to provide tuition assistance to needy students. “This sale emphasizes our desire to implement a strategy that will look to find charitable and community-oriented uses of the diocesan buildings that are no longer in use,” said Bishop Kmiec. The bishop also noted, “We want our buildings to last long into the future as vibrant places that play a positive role in their neighborhoods. This is part of our assignment as we move forward with

Journey in Faith and Grace and it’s good to get the first under our belt with such a good partner like the Bob Lanier Center. They help people and that’s our main objective.”

Details on the schools to be closed are:

St. Thomas Aquinas (20 Athol St., South Buffalo)

230 students; 19 faculty and staff; opened in 1922; the school, which has a capacity of 475, lost 70 students last year;

St. Martin of Tours School (1125 Abbott Rd., South Buffalo)

278 students; 23 faculty and staff; opened in 1926; the school, which has a capacity of 486, lost 115 students last year;

St. Bonaventure School, West Seneca (2784 Seneca St.)

120 students; 19 faculty and staff; opened in 1951; the school, which has a capacity of 251, lost 12 students last year;

St. Anthony School, Batavia (114 Liberty St.)

68 students; 16 faculty and staff; opened in 1908; the school, which has a capacity of 180 students, lost 5 students last year;

These closings are the result of a deep look into each school’s financial information as well as their trends. Vigrass noted, “Continuing to operate these schools would be an enormous drain of resources from the parish. Their futures were not bright but instead full of issues and problems regarding enrollment, old buildings and/or great financial strain. The families seeking a Catholic education in these areas have other good schools to choose from. These other schools will be able to provide a stable environment for the children and will also serve as a sound investment of their parents’ personal financial investments in education.”

The Department of Catholic Education has established a transition program that will assist students and their families in enrolling in neighboring Catholic schools. During Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 29-Feb. 4), families will be invited to attend open houses to help with their choices. Registration for all Catholic schools in the diocese will be conducted beginning Feb. 13.

Resources that are now available include a hotline parents can call for information (716-847-5512) and a page on the Catholic Schools Web site, (www.wnycatholicschools.org) with detailed resource information.

The latest teacher openings in Catholic schools are posted on the diocesan Web site: http://www.buffalodiocese.org/cathed/TeachingOpp.htm

Students from St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Martin of Tours and St. Bonaventure schools will be able to enroll in a number of nearby schools, including the new regional school in South Buffalo, Trinity Catholic Academy, St. Ambrose School and St. Bernard School in Buffalo, Fourteen Holy Helpers School and Queen of Heaven School in West Seneca and Our Lady of Victory School in Lackawanna.

Students from St. Anthony School will be welcomed at St. Joseph School in Batavia and Holy Family School in LeRoy. St. Anthony students who live in Albion in Orleans County will be able to take advantage of public school busing if they enroll in St. Joseph School.

The neighboring schools have scheduled open houses:

Trinity Catholic Academy January 30, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

St. Ambrose February 7, all day

St. Bernard January 29, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Fourteen Holy Helpers New families are welcome to call the school for private tours.

Our Lady of Victory March 21, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

St. Joseph-Batavia New families are welcome to call the school for private tours.

Holy Family-LeRoy February 2, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Vigrass said there may be other announcements regarding school closings before the end of the academic year, depending on circumstances.

About 120 students who attend the schools receive BISON Fund scholarships. Those scholarships will be transferable to other parochial and private schools in the Buffalo area.

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