By Zach Patberg
Rev. James Tighe, in a Feb. 8 letter to the parents and teachers, said the school at 141-25 77th Rd. has struggled hard to keep its footing ever since last year, when it learned at a meeting that it just barely escaped the list of 26 schools the diocese said last year would close.”The teachers and staff and a few parents have worked very hard ever since that meeting, but their fund-raising, although it helped greatly, could not hope to solve the financial problems or even come close to closing this year's deficit,” which is about $160,000, Tighe said.He could not be reached for comment because schools were closed for the winter break.The pastor pointed to a significant drop in Catholic families in the area as a reason for the K-8 school's starved enrollment, which this year rests at 215 – a number that cannot hope to close next year's projected $200,000 deficit despite dipping into the parish's reserves.The school's only chance, Tighe said, was to enroll 300 students for next year, which would be enough to balance the budget. Early enrollment attempts were made and emergency meetings were called to achieve this by the diocese-issued Feb. 1 deadline. But it soon became apparent that with only 100 students enrolled, the school would have fewer than 200 students for next year.”Queen of Peace cannot continue to operate with so few students,” said Tighe, who consulted with the diocese's Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio before making the decision. “I cannot sign contracts with the teachers if I am not able to guarantee that we can pay their salaries and benefits, which I cannot do since the parish reserves are depleted, and income from tuition will not allow us to have a balanced budget.”The news of the closing has sent ripples of anger through parents, many of whom are now scrambling to find alternative places to send their children.Phanuel Soba, the school's assistant athletic director and parent of a third- and -sixth-grader, said his only choices are to send his children to either a public school or pay more for another Catholic school that would likely be overcrowded.”A lot of parents are distraught over this,” he said Tuesday. “My wife didn't take it well. She's very anxious about what we're going to do with the kids.”He and his wife Azalea said Queen of Peace was more like a family, with many second- and third- generation students enrolled.”It was a place that I felt was safe for my children and close to home,” Azalea Soba said.Nearby Catholic schools, including Flushing's Holy Family and St. Ann, have offered to register students who will not be returning to Queen of Peace next fall.The future of another Queens Catholic school, American Martyrs in Bayside, is also in doubt. At a meeting in January, parents were told that the school might not reopen in the fall because of declining enrollment, according to parents who attended the meeting.”Their main concern was to let us know that the school is in the red,” said Paul Battisti, a parent at the school. Battisti said the Pre-K through 8 school has only 179 students and that each class is smaller than the one above it. He said the school has not advertised for new students and whether it will be open in the fall remains an open question.The school referred the questions to a spokesman for the diocese, who did not return calls for comment.In a recent column in the diocese's weekly newspaper, The Tablet, DiMarzio said the diocese would launch a “special initiative” to reach out to private and corporate philanthropists as well as Catholic school alumni for financial support to halt future closings.Reporter John Tozzi contributed to this report. Reach reporter Zach Patberg by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
