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June 14, 2009

Lake Placid parochial school could close

By DAN HEATH

LAKE PLACID — A local parochial school could be closed as soon as July 1.

St. Agnes School Principal Anne Bayruns said the decision came after a meeting of the parish finance committee and the Rev. Joseph Morgan Wednesday. Morgan gave her a press release to proofread Thursday that said the K-5 school would be closed due to low enrollment numbers.

“I was shocked, and I was upset about it. I asked for a little more time,” she said. “I’ve been given two weeks to get those numbers up.”

Numbers at the school are down, Bayruns said, with only 37 students enrolled for the upcoming school year.

“The parish has told me they can’t open with numbers that low,” she said.

Bayruns said she’s been the principal at St. Agnes since April 15. She also became principal at St. Bernard’s Parochial School in Saranac Lake July 1, 2008. She said she believes that, with time, she can increase enrollment. Bayruns pointed to the Saranac Lake school, where enrollment has increased from about 50 students to around 70.

“I know the same thing can happen at St. Agnes.”

Tuition last year was $1,500. That will increase to at least $1,700 for the upcoming year, she said, and could go up a little higher than that.

Increased enrollment could be on the horizon, if numbers in other programs are any indicator, Bayruns said.

Programs that serve 3-year-olds cater to 15 children, with a waiting list. Those for 4-year-olds have 18 children, also with a waiting list.

Lake Placid needs an alternative, private elementary school, Bayruns said, and St. Agnes has been that option since 1959, graduating its 50th class last week.

Bayruns said the school offers high-quality elementary education.

“Our test scores have skyrocketed. Our values are outstanding. We’re clearly a step above.”

Lake Placid resident Patricia Stanton said she’s had four children graduate from St. Agnes. That includes her youngest daughter, Laura, who graduated Friday.

“Our children received an excellent education with Christian values,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful school for us.”

Stanton understands the need for increased enrollment but thinks the school could continue to look at experimental programs, such as the merging of the first- and second-grade students that took place.

Loss of the school would be a jolt to the close-knit parish community, she said.

“I would be very disappointed if it closed. We’re hoping for the best.”

Bayruns said that, if the school is closed, an option would be to invite students to attend St. Bernard’s. She sees that only as a last resort.

“My first priority is to have both towns have a catholic school for elementary education,” Bayruns said.

Closing the school would also affect about a dozen employees, including five certified teachers and three teaching assistants.

There is a meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight at the St. Agnes School cafeteria, 2322 Saranac Ave., to gauge support for the school’s future. Bayruns said that if only 10 people show up, it will show the diocese and parish are right. If about 100 people show up, she said, that will show there is enough support to warrant keeping the school open.



E-mail Dan Heath at:

dheath@pressrepublican.com

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