Faced With Devastating Closure News, Mercy Students Shine Strong

RIVERHEAD, NY — Despite a year filled with tears and uncertainty after news broke that Bishop McGann-Mercy High School would be closing, students continued to tap into inner strength and shine strong: This week, the Monarch girls' softball team made it to the Long Island Championships for the first time in the school's history.

Coach Rose Horton said although they lost the game Thursday — they played East Rockaway at Hofstra University with a final score of 10 to 0 — in all the ways that mattered, the girls emerged victorious.

"It was actually super exciting to be a part of a program that really strived to be the best there was in Suffolk County. I had a dedicated group of girls who showed up yesterday — they played their hearts out and left everything they love, softball, school and pride, on the field between those two white lines," Horton said.

To reach the Long Island Championships, the girls played a double elimination game, held on May 21 and 23 against Southold, winning both, Horton said. "That bought us our ticket to the Long Island Championship."

Even faced with the devastating news that their beloved school was slated to shutter, Horton said the girls won the Suffolk County championship and headed to the LIC for the first time in the school's long history. "It was awesome," she said.

Horton, a Mercy graduate herself, is praying that plans by dedicated parents to raise enough funding for an independent school on the Mercy grounds come to fruition.

Various team members are working together toward a goal of opening a "sustainable, state of the art independent Catholic high school," said Kerry Wilkie, who is spearheading efforts; parents and the community have come together in a fierce show of support to fundraise for the independent Catholic school.

Parents agreed that the girls were a shining ray of hope even during the dark months after the news of the closure was announced.

"I could not be more proud of these girls," said parent Joann Waski. "The softball season had literally just begun when the news of the schools closing was released. The girls had a choice, pack it in or make this final year amazing. And that is just what they did!"

The games have been filled with emotion, Waski said. "There was not a dry eye on the field at the last home game. It finally hit home that this was their last time on the Mercy field. It was heartbreaking."

However, she said, the season was not over for the girls. They did not know it at the time but a playoff game was just around the corner — and it was played at home.

"They won that game and ended up taking the team further than the Monarchs have been in many years. I am praying that the new East End Catholic School will open on the Mercy grounds in September so that my daughter Ryan may finish out her last year as a senior with her cleats back on that blessed soil."

However, despite plans moving forward among parents, the Diocese has not changed its stance — and would not comment about the possibility of leasing the land to an independent school.

According to Sean Dolan, director of communications for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, a release was issued that said, "There has been no change in the decision by the Diocese of Rockville Centre to close Bishop McGann Mercy Diocesan High School at the end of the current school year. In addition, the property is not for sale at this time."

When asked about possibly leasing the parcel, Dolan said, "It's like putting the cart before the horse. We haven't seen a proposal that this is viable." The original statement, he said, stands.

Parents and students were equally livid and heartbroken in March after they were rocked by the news that Bishop McGann-Mercy High School in Riverhead would be shutting its doors — closing a chapter on a legacy that has shaped generations of lives.

The Diocese of Rockville Center stated that, as part of a long-term effort to revitalize and strengthen Catholic education on Long Island, it would consolidate two elementary schools and close the diocesan high school, stating that the schools are "no longer viable" due to decreased enrollment.

Moving forward, the diocese will combine Our Lady of Mercy Regional School in Cutchogue and St. Isidore School in Riverhead into a new nursery through Grade 8 school on the St. Isidore site.

The new school will be named St. John Paul II Regional School.

Parents and students alike spoke out about what they said was shocking news.

"Our family is devastated right now," said Rosanne Hendrickson, who has two sons that attended Mercy; her oldest graduated in 2015. "Sean said he loved going to Mercy as he did for all four years of Catholic high school. Our other son Evan is presently in ninth grade. Evan is so confused and upset right now," she said.

Maddie Hansen, currently a ninth grader at McGann Mercy High School, told Patch, "This school means the world to me. When I first made the switch I knew that it was a great community. I made so many friends on the first day and I have two friends that will stick with me for life, maybe even more. When I found out the news I was devastated," she said.

After Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School in Riverhead closes, the Diocese will offer students the opportunity to enroll at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip, a release said.

The diocese will provide transportation, guidance counseling and tuition grants to students who continue at a diocesan school.

Aquebogue resident Debbie Kneidl, who once worked at Mercy, said, "Rockville Center has just cut off the East End." Catholic education, she added, is a ministry. "It is where children of God are taught to be disciples."

Children who attend Catholic school, she said, are rooted in their faith and are taught daily to serve and minister to others.

"These children are often the ones who keep Catholicism moving forward in a community," Kneidl said. "Bishop Barres, under the direction and suggestion of the Chief Financial Officer for Rockville Centre Tom Doodian, have done nothing other than to suggest to our East End community that we are not as important, and as worthy, as those in western Suffolk or Nassau. They are saying we as a community do not deserve the same opportunities. They are saying money is more important than doing God's work. Shame on them!"

The three schools will close at the end of the current school year in June, and St. John Paul II Regional School will open in September, 2018.

Enrollment at the three schools, all on the East End has fallen 37 percent since 2011, the Diocese said.

The high school alone was subsidized $16.3 million from 2007 through the last school year and is expected to require an additional $2.3 million in support for the school year, a release said. The enrollment decline partially reflects a 6.2 percent drop in the school-age population in Suffolk County between 2011 and 2016, a loss of 19,000 children, according to data from the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, the Diocese said.

"We recognize the pain and disruption that this decision causes for our beloved school families," said Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop, Diocese of Rockville Centre. "It is a decision that is heartbreaking to our students, their parents and families, our dedicated faculty, administrators and staff, and of course our parishes that are impacted."

He added that the Diocese would support students, families, and employees throughout the transition with spiritual and pastoral care, as well as with information through communication.

Bishop McGann-Mercy, with a total enrollment of 365 in Grade 7 to 12 and 312 students in Grades 9 to 12, expects to graduate 91 students in June and has registered only 55 students for the incoming freshman class of September 2018, the release said.
St. Isidore School, with 104 enrolled students in kindergarten through eighth grade, is expected to require a subsidy from the parish and diocese of approximately $475,000 for the current school year, the diocese said.

And at Our Lady of Mercy Regional, enrollment has declined to 53 students in kindergarten through sixth grade with just three students in the first grade; the school is anticipated to require a subsidy from the supporting parishes and diocese of approximately $600,000 for the current school year, the diocese said.

"While we sincerely regret having to take these actions, we remain dedicated to the mission of Catholic education," said Bishop Barres.

Patch courtesy photos.