Nearly $2 million less in charitable giving and a steady drop in student enrollment is forcing the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver to stop funding two schools next year and reduce grants to 20 others.
The archdiocese would not name the two schools.
But parents and community members from St. Catherine of Siena School in northwest Denver say their school received word last week that it would be cut off — which they say amounts to a $240,000 loss.
“It’s a steep shortfall, and they didn’t receive a lot of heads-up,” said Phil Vigil, a parent. “It’s almost the end of the school year. . . . It’s sending a clear message that (the archdiocese) doesn’t care if the place stays open.”
Dick Thompson, the Denver Archdiocese’s superintendent for Catholic schools, said schools must rely on their own supporters.
“We can’t continue to allocate funding to them. We have so little available,” he said. “They need to tap into their alumni or they need to look into their own fundraising network, and we are standing by to help them do that.”
Three more schools could suffer the same fate the following year and have been told they must prepare to be “self-sustaining,” Thompson said.
St. Catherine, which has been operating in the community for more than 80 years, is planning a town-hall meeting Saturday to discuss the news and a fundraiser later that night.
Principal Diana Bennett said Tuesday that the K-8 school, which has 147 students, will not close next year. “We are definitely planning on being open and serving our community for many years,” she said. “We welcome donations.”
Throughout the nation, urban Catholic schools are in trouble. More than 1,300 Catholic schools have shut down since 1990, according to the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
New York’s archdiocese recently announced it was cutting funding to 10 high schools. The same story is playing out in Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and Miami. Changes in demographics, migration, increasing public school choice and the decline of the religious community are being blamed.
“Since 2000 we have lost 1,170 students in Denver schools,” said archdiocese superintendent Thompson. At least 19 Catholic schools in Denver have closed since 1960.
Still, the Archdiocese of Denver Catholic Schools remains the largest private school system in Colorado, with more than 10,000 students — a third of whom are minorities — in 39 parish schools.
For five years the organization has been working on a strategic plan around its schools — giving principals marketing kits and enrollment seminars, nurturing philanthropies that support the schools and employing “strategic pruning” of its budget.
Schools were already in a tenuous position before the economic downturn. Projections indicate yearly philanthropic revenues will be down between $1.5 million and $1.9 million, Thompson said.
“You come down to the fact that you only have so many resources to go around,” he said.
Schools will still receive funds for specific programs and children from low-income families will receive money through the Seeds of Hope Charitable Trust, Thompson said.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
