ASTORIA — Parents with children at a local Catholic school that's slated to close in June are scrambling to find other options, and some may opt for public or charter schools for fear that other nearby Catholic schools might eventually meet the chopping block, too.
Most Precious Blood School in Astoria is expected to close at the end of the school year due to what officials say is a drop in enrollment, and because the building and neighboring church are in need of expensive repairs.
Though parents are fighting to keep the school open, they're also making backup plans for next fall. The Diocese of Brooklyn has said that neighboring Catholic schools will be able to accommodate Most Precious Blood students, but some parents are hesitant.
Barbara Coogan said that if her kids can't continue at Most Precious Blood, she'll likely send them to a public or charter school.
She's wary that if the Diocese is closing her school, it can't guarantee the stability of its other Catholic schools either.
"If the pastor can close [Most Precious Blood,] a thriving school, then [who's] to say they can't close another Catholic school at any time," she wrote in an email.
Lissette Paz, who has two sons at Most Precious Blood, echoed Coogan's concerns, saying some parents are "turned off" by the way the closing of the school was handled.
"I think a lot of people have lost hope," she said. "How can we choose what school we're going to go to if this school was doing so well and you’re going to close it anyway?"
The Diocese of Brooklyn said earlier this month that it was closing Most Precious Blood due in part to declining enrollment — down 20 students since last year — though parents argue those numbers don't take pre-K and nursery school students into account.
Officials said the school and the church building next door are also in need of expensive repairs, including a new roof, windows and doors, totaling nearly $6 million between the two buildings.
The Diocese plans to rent out the school space in order to fund the repairs, a spokeswoman previously said — a move one parent described as "caring about the building and not the people."
Parents say they've been given the option of enrolling their kids at four other Queens Catholic schools: St. Francis of Assisi, Immaculate Conception, Saint Joseph's and Saint Sebastian.
But some say these schools don't offer all the same things that Most Precious Blood does, like daily hot breakfasts and lunches, bus service, an indoor gym and an outdoor playground, plus programs like yoga and a robotic club.
"We've been very, very happy there," said Kate McCroary Jay, whose son is in second grade at Most Precious Blood.
She registered him at St. Joseph's for next year, but says they've also applied to charter schools and for the Department of Education's Gifted and Talented program, and will opt for those over Catholic school if he gets in.
"We went through this years ago, we did our research, this is what we chose," she said of Most Precious Blood. "Now anything else that we choose at this point will be second best."
