MATTYDALE — After 67 years of providing a Catholic education for elementary schoolers, St. Margaret’s School in Mattydale will close in June 2021. The pre-kindergarten through grade 6 program will consolidate with St. Rose of Lima School, just 2.5 miles away in the village of North Syracuse. Both schools are located within the North Syracuse Central School District.
“I truly empathize with the families of the St. Margaret’s School community, who desire a Catholic school education, but the low enrollment, the financial burden on the parish and the depleted resources do not make this possible at the St. Margaret’s location. I pray for their understanding and cooperation at this difficult time,” the Most Rev. Douglas J. Lucia, Bishop of Syracuse, said in a statement.
Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools Bill Crist said enrollment at St. Margaret’s School has declined in recent years, and the coronavirus pandemic put an even greater strain on the parish’s finances.
“The COVID thing has really tipped the scale for many of our schools,” Crist said.
After consultation with the Syracuse Diocese, the trustees of St. Margaret’s Parish, its financial council, pastor and Crist made the consolidation request. The bishop granted the request “with sadness and regret” in January, according to the diocese.
“These are difficult decisions in difficult times,” Crist said.
Father Christopher Celentano, pastor of St. Rose of Lima, said as many as 90 St. Margaret’s students could join the St. Rose flock. Currently, St. Rose of Lima School has 87 pre-K students and 139 students in grades K-6.
“Our hope is that all of the families find a home at St. Rose,” Celentano said. “When we learned about the closing of St. Margaret’s School, we first reached out to them to express our sadness and support. The entire community had been and remains in our prayers. Our pastor sent letters to express those sentiments as well as to invite them to consider making Saint Rose their next school home. Our children will also be sending notes and cards to the students of St. Margaret’s over the coming weeks.”
Crist and Celentano said St. Rose is working with St. Margaret’s families to schedule school tours.
“Families are recognizing that Catholic education is important and the four walls that they receive that education in isn’t as important. It’s tough for everybody to do it, but ultimately we believe it’s the right decision,” Crist said.
Celentano echoed Crist’s sentiments.
“Due to COVID, we are working on creative ways to gather online and in person (once the warm weather arrives and we can safely distance). We know that no matter the building or the name on the building, that in Jesus Christ we are one church, one school and one family,” he said.
Once enrollment for the 2021-22 year is finalized, the diocese will sit down with St. Rose to determine how to meet any additional needs the school may have, Crist said.
According to Celentano, St. Rose accommodated between 600 and 700 students in the 1990s.
“At this point we could easily accommodate the current St. Margaret’s students. The facility is spacious and we look forward to filling more classrooms,” he said.
St. Margaret’s School opened in 1954. Many of the parish trustees and parents of current students are alumni themselves, Crist said.
“For them to say ‘We can’t afford to keep doing this’ is tearing them apart,” he said.
Celentano said he spent a year as a pastoral intern at St. Margaret’s.
“My time spent in the classrooms, in the church and on the playground are treasured memories,” he said.
Bishop Lucia remarked on the closing of a chapter in the history of Catholic education in Central New York.
“We know that news of the closure at the end of the school year will cause considerable sorrow and pain, not only for those families who are currently enrolled at St. Margaret’s School, but also for others who have benefited from Catholic education in its long and remarkable history in Mattydale. We all share in this sadness. I pray that we will continue to support each other in faith, hope and love as we experience shared grief in the closing of our beloved school,” Lucia said.
