Putnam, Conn. —
St. Mary School in Putnam will not open for school this year, as plummeting enrollment this summer has led the Diocese of Norwich to shut its doors after 137 years.
A news release from the office of the superintendent of schools for the Norwich Diocese said the school will be closed effective immediately.
The letter stated only 47 students were enrolled at the school earlier this week, but an additional 20 families have taken out registration forms at two neighboring Catholic schools in the past two days.
“It is not possible to offer a sound educational program with enrollment so drastically low,” the release stated.
Parents were alerted earlier this week the diocese was contemplating the school’s closure after enrollment numbers dropped by half in the past few weeks.
The school already owes the diocese between $200,000 and $300,000,said Michael Strammiello, spokesman for the Diocese of Norwich.
Strammiello said the diocese and the parish of St. Mary's had every intention of working toward revitalizing the school earlier this year.
But with fewer than 30 students, the tuition income to the school would have been less than $120,000. Expenditures were projected to reach $700,000, according to the release.
"Clearly, the school and the parish cannot sustain themselves under such conditions. Efforts to turn the school around were rendered impossible by the number of families having withdrawn their children," the release said.
A news release from the office of the superintendent of schools for the Norwich Diocese said the school will be closed effective immediately.
The letter stated only 47 students were enrolled at the school earlier this week, but an additional 20 families have taken out registration forms at two neighboring Catholic schools in the past two days.
“It is not possible to offer a sound educational program with enrollment so drastically low,” the release stated.
Parents were alerted earlier this week the diocese was contemplating the school’s closure after enrollment numbers dropped by half in the past few weeks.
The school already owes the diocese between $200,000 and $300,000,said Michael Strammiello, spokesman for the Diocese of Norwich.
Strammiello said the diocese and the parish of St. Mary's had every intention of working toward revitalizing the school earlier this year.
But with fewer than 30 students, the tuition income to the school would have been less than $120,000. Expenditures were projected to reach $700,000, according to the release.
"Clearly, the school and the parish cannot sustain themselves under such conditions. Efforts to turn the school around were rendered impossible by the number of families having withdrawn their children," the release said.
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