Study of schools underway

New grade school, moving high school are possible results of survey of Saratoga County's Catholics

A study underway in the Albany Diocese may lead to a new elementary school in Saratoga County and the relocation of Saratoga Central Catholic High School.

The study will determine whether Saratoga County residents are interested in having a new school built or the junior-senior high school moved, whether people would be willing to pay the tuition at a new school, and how much they'd be willing to pay.

The survey is being conducted by Wisconsin-based Meitler Consultants, Inc., which specializes in diocesan, school, religious community and parish feasibility and planning studies. More than 95 percent of the company's clients are Catholic.

Factors

According to Sister Mary Jane Herb, IHM, superintendent of diocesan Catholic Schools, an assessment last spring found several reasons to consider another location for SCCHS:

* The current campus (on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs) has no room for growth, and the school is almost at its maximum enrollment;

* there is a perception in the community that area public schools have more offerings and that SCCHS "cannot meet those expectations;" and

* the school needs major renovations, including updated science and computer labs. SCCHS also has no athletic fields at its current site (it uses community property).

Growth rate

In addition, Sister Jane noted that Saratoga County's population growth is expected to continue over the next several decades. For example, a Capital District Planning Commission survey has projected that the population of Saratoga Springs will increase by nearly 2,100 by the year 2010.

That growth may spur the need for a new elementary school. The three Catholic schools that currently serve Saratoga County -- St. Mary's in Ballston Spa, St. Clement's in Saratoga Springs and St. Mary's in Waterford -- are "close to capacity" in enrollment, said Sister Jane.

She said that three Catholic schools in the Capital District have closed of late (St. Patrick's School in Troy last year, and St. Joseph/St. John's Academy in Rensselaer and Marian Academy in Schenectady this year) because there was no longer a population to serve them.

A planning process taking place in Schenectady is expected to result in fewer schools there.

Meeting needs

With that in mind, the Schools Office is asking, "Where is the population [now], and do we need a school there?"

The superintendent added that most parents are willing to commute for work, but it's difficult to send students on a long commute to attend existing schools.

A commute of more than 15 miles means students don't qualify for public school transportation, for one thing; also, students often need to be at school for extracurricular activities.

Gathering data

Gary Gelo, a senior Meitler consultant, visited the Diocese earlier this week to meet with pastors, principals and committees involved in the study.

He shared demographic information already gathered (see sidebar) and went over the first draft of the survey, which will be distributed after Jan. 1.

Sister Jane expects a report on the results of the survey by February or March. The next steps will be determined by those results, she said, but the Diocese is already looking at possible sites for a new or relocated school, including land bought last year in Malta or a site north of SCCHS' current location.

"We don't know how this is going to play out," she stated. The fact that the Diocese has been forced to close some schools means that the opening of another is "a mixed blessing," because "where the schools were built 150 years ago is not where the people are located today."

STATISTICS ON SARATOGA COUNTY GROWTH

Statistics compiled by Meitler Consultants so far include:

* The population in Saratoga County is projected to increase by 31,220 (16 percent) by the year 2020. The Clifton Park and Halfmoon areas are expected to see the most growth; Saratoga Springs and Wilton will also grow significantly.

* Projections indicate the City of Saratoga and Town of Wilton will account for 85 percent of residential building in the school district in the next five years.

* Of several possible sites under consideration for relocating SCCHS, the site near Northway exit 12 is projected to have the largest population from which to draw potential students.

* Over the past five years, enrollment at SCCHS has ranged from 236 to 256 students. Enrollment is expected to remain "fairly consistent" in the next five years except in 2006-'07, when a large graduating class will be followed by a small incoming sixth-grade class.

* Enrollment has increased since 2001 at St. Mary's School in Ballston Spa, St. Clement's in Saratoga Springs and St. Mary's in Waterford; it decreased at St. Mary/St. Alphonsus in Glens Falls and St. Ambrose in Latham.

* The number of practicing Catholics in Saratoga County parishes increased by 11 percent from 1997-2002. (KB)

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