WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 29, 2006: The Archdiocese of New York announced its lists of parishes and schools it is “realigning” Tuesday and White Plains St. John The Evangelist School is one of the schools planned to close. Father Neil Graham, Pastor of St. John The Evangelist Parish on Hamilton Avenue,  told WPCNR he has been invited to a meeting at Dunwodie St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers Thursday morning at 11.

St. John The Evangelist School on Hamilton Avenue, adjacent the TransCenter. St. John The Evangelist Parish is to the right. Photo, WPCNR News.

 He said he had no idea who was attending the meeting, who was running the meeting, or what agenda was to be discussed, but imagined it would be closing issues. Father Graham said he just learned his parish school was on the Archdiocese agenda to be closed Tuesday evening.

Father Graham told WPCNR in a telephone interview this morning the St. John school has had “very low enrollment and has already been supported by the Archdiocese for the last several years. We cannot complete with District schools.” Father Graham said that though his school ran a Pre-Kindergarten program, they could not complete with the full-day Kindergarten program run by the White Plains City School District.

Asked how many children attend the school, Father Graham could not recall the exact count of students, but confirmed it was less than 202, the last published figure for the school. Asked how many students attending the school lived in White Plains, the Father said he did not have a figure on how many students lived in the city as opposed to out of district attendees.

Another View. 170 Hamilton Avenue, an office building is slightly to the right of the church, out of the picture. Photo, WPCNR News

St John The Evangelist School provides a Pre-Kindergarten Class, Kindergarten and Grades 1 through 8. It employs 11 full-time union teachers, Father Graham said and some full time aids. The Father said the school would remain open through the end of this school year. When asked about the tuition the school charged, Father Graham said it depended on the number of students the families sent to the school and other factors, and therefore he could not name a figure. Asked how the tuition compared to other Catholic schools in White Plains, Father Graham said St. John was “competitive.”

A Last Appeal -- Students Guaranteed Another Spot.

According to the official news release  by the Archdiocese,  St. John may have a last appeal, the release reports: “Parishes and schools under consideration (for closing) now have the opportunity to discuss the recommended  changes (with the Archdiocesan Realignment Staff) before final decisions are made (over the next several weeks).”

The release also states… “the final decisions will entail the establishment of new parishes, the building and expansion of existing churches and schools, mergers, and where appropriate, closings.” The Archdiocese assures “every child in a Catholic School that may close is guaranteed a place in a near-by Catholic school.”

No plans to Close the Parish

St. John the Evangelist parish is not on the list of parishes to be closed at this time.

Asked if he had any idea whether St. John itself would be closed and possibly sold, Father Graham said, “that would be unthinkable.”  He pointed out the school building is used extensively and that the parish has eight services every weekend, including services in Spanish and Haitian, and that the building is used for religious education classes and meetings during the week.

The complete St. John The Evangelist Block at Hamilton and Lex in White Plains. Entrance to school and its parking lot is to left, church is the gray building in center of picture. Photo, WPCNR News.

The Archdiocese news release notes in referring to closed schools, “In order to continue excellence in Catholic education, several of the closed schools will be used for new and creative purposes, such as to allow for the expansion of a nearby Catholic high school, to establish a atechetical center for a local community, and to develop a Catholic academy school.”

The complete news release and list of closings may be found at http://www.ny-archdiocese.org