Annunciation Committee Discusses Merger With St. Denis

On Tuesday night, parents gathered at the to hear the school’s committee in charge of overseeing the propose merger with the .

The spokesman for the Joint Implementation Team, which is overseeing the proposed merger, Jeff Sherry explained to the parents that the merger would only be possible if 100 students from will be enrolled to the proposed Cardinal John Foley Regional Catholic School, which would be located at St. Denis.

Back in January, to close Annunciation B.V.M. School, along with 43 other elementary schools, in June.

Sherry and Annunciation’s principal Mary Ann De Angelo said that enrollment numbers for the school is too low to keep the school open, which is why the school did not appeal the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendation, and that the proposed merger was a good solution for the students.

Using a PowerPoint presentation, which accompanies this article, Sherry admitted that he was confident that at least 100 Annunciation students would be enrolled into the new proposed school to continue the merger process.

If the merger goes through, it would also mean that teachers and faculty from both schools would have to reapply to work at the proposed Cardinal John Foley Regional Catholic School, Sherry said.

But if the school does not receive a minimum of 100 enrollments, the merger process would not happen.

However 7th Ward Commissioner Jim McGarrity showed the Haverford-Havertown Patch an email to parents from De Angelo and St. Denis’ Rev. Msgr. James Graham and the school’s principal Sr. Gerald Helene that went into detail about what would happen to Annunciation if it does not go through with the proposed merger.

“… ‘Annunciation BVM School will close’ on June 30, 2012 and ‘that the preference of Archbishop Chaput, Bishop Fitzgerald and the Office of the Catholic Education is that Annunciation BVM and Saint Denis participate in a regional school at the Saint Denis School site. If this is not possible, Annunciation BVM School will close outright and Saint Denis will remain a free-standing parish elementary school,’” stated the March 15 email that quoted from a Wednesday, March 14, letter from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

But this may have consequences that go beyond just the closing of the Annunciation school, McGarrity added.

“If the school closes, I believe that from what I heard (Annunciation BVM) church will close in 2015,” he said.

Some parents were unhappy to hear about the proposal, with some questioning what will happen to Catholic education in Havertown. Thyy Taitt felt that while the meeting gave a better look at the proposed school, she said it did not help her in deciding if a regional Catholic school would “save” Catholic education.

Colleen Hunt feels that there will be a lack of community if the proposed new Catholic school will be a regional one that will have students from different parts of the region.

“I’m upset that we have to register by March 30 without seeing (St. Denis),” she lamented after the meeting to Patch, adding that many parents are upset that they have to pay a nonrefundable $100 for enrollment.

Hunt also echoed many parents’ dismay that St. Denis, which has a deficit, would remain open while Annunciation, which has a surplus, would be the one to close.

Patch is awaiting comment from the Archdiocese regarding why St. Denis would remain open but not Annunciation.

“This is the archdiocese’s way of forcing the issue to merge the two schools or to close Annunciation B.V.M. School,” said Joe Rastatter, a father who has two children at the Annunciation B.V.M. School.

He also voiced his opinion that parents should have been given more information on other Catholic school choices besides St. Denis.

He also said that he will be looking at other surrounding Catholic schools for his children, but stated that he might have to enroll them in public schools.

Sherry declined to comment to Patch.

Patch left a message for Graham seeking comment Wednesday morning. He has not yet called back.