Many students displaced by Blessed Sacrament closure to attend Greensburg Diocese school

Nearly a week after the announcement of the closure of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament School in Harrison, the future is still uncertain for many students, faculty and staff.

But at Mary Queen of Apostles School, nearby in New Kensington, Principal Cathy Collett said she’s been giving back-to-back tours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., all week long.

All but one of the prospective families have come from Blessed Sacrament.

“They are so gracious and they’ve just been wonderful,” Collett said. “It’s so hard, because here you are so excited and happy to see them, and they’ve just been hit with something that’s been a source of sadness.”

Families grieved after the Diocese of Pittsburgh announced June 12 the closure of two regional Catholic elementary schools: St. Patrick School, in Canonsburg, and Blessed Sacrament, in Natrona Heights, Harrison.

Blessed Sacrament had been struggling financially, diocesan officials said, with dwindling enrollment and a growing deficit. At the end of March, the deficit was around $640,000, with school debt totaling another $440,000. Blessed Sacrament had only 85 students registered for next school year.

With the economic impact brought by the covid-19 pandemic, officials said the school could no longer hold on.

“These decisions are never made lightly,” said the Rev. Kris Stubna, president of the Board of Pittsburgh-East Regional Catholic Elementary Schools. “The most critical factor is enrollment. Once a school dips below 100, it’s in critical condition. It’s almost impossible to make a school work, financially and educationally. And that’s reflective of the area in which we live — it’s a demographic issue that’s affecting public schools as well.”

Stubna said Wednesday at least 11 families from Blessed Sacrament had contacted St. John the Baptist Elementary School, about 30 minutes away in the Unity section of Plum, which he said presents the most “ideal” opportunity for families displaced by the closure.

“One of the challenges, of course is that (Blessed Sacrament) is at the far end of the (Pittsburgh) diocese, which is why that school has been so hugely supported by the diocese and by everybody,” Stubna said. “It certainly isn’t located close to other schools” in the Pittsburgh Diocese.

Michelle Peduto, director of Catholic schools for the Pittsburgh Diocese, said while the diocese hopes to keep as many Blessed Sacraments families in Pittsburgh Catholic schools as possible, it may not be realistic for most. The diocese can’t afford to provide busing outside of a 10-mile radius for any given school, she said, which would put St. John the Baptist School out of reach.

“We’re very aware that just three miles away is a Greensburg (Diocese) Catholic school, too,” she said. “We’d love to keep them in the family, but Catholic education is Catholic education, in our diocese or another.”

Peduto said school officials within the Pittsburgh Diocese are working with families to figure out their options.

Collett said Mary Queen of Apostles — despite being housed in a different diocese — is rapidly gaining new enrollments from Blessed Sacrament’s student body. It’s like an “unofficial merger,” she said.

“It’s important that we learn what is special to them,” Collett said. “That’s something that has to be done to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable. I’m looking forward to it, honestly.”

Next door, St. Joe’s High remains

Collett was unfazed by the movement of families between the dioceses — in fact, she said, it happens all the time. Students regularly graduate from Mary Queen of Apostles and go on to attend St. Joseph High School, a Pittsburgh Diocese school that shares a building with Blessed Sacrament.

St. Joseph High School is staying in the same location. While the high school shared a building with the elementary school, the two operated as separate entities. High school procedures and activities, including fundraisers and events, will go on unchanged, Principal Beverly Kaniecki said.

It will be up to the Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament parish, which operates the building the two schools shared, to determine what will happen to the now-empty wing.

Kaniecki said she was taken aback when she learned of the elementary school’s closure. In an email, she said she felt “profound sadness for the students and their families.”

“We will miss the day-to-day interaction with OLMBS students, whether it be in the parish church or in the St. Joseph High School building or gym,” Kaniecki said. “A loss to the community is the St. Anthony School Program, which just began at OLMBS this past school year.”

“It is our hope and prayer that all of these students will be able to continue in Catholic elementary education and return to SJHS in ninth grade,” she said.

Now hiring: Mary Q of A

Mary Queen of Apostles is also reaching out to Blessed Sacrament’s faculty and staff, inviting them to send in their applications, Collett said. The school already has at least two open positions due to retirement this year, and she is expecting the influx of new students will warrant hiring a few more teachers.

When it comes to faculty and staff, Peduto said those displaced by the closing of Blessed Sacrament will not receive severance pay, but can apply at other Pittsburgh Diocese schools. Stubna said the diocese is preparing for the possibility more teachers will be needed at other schools.

Still, Peduto said there likely won’t be enough positions to go around.

“I don’t know that we’ll be able to absorb them all.”