Published: February 26, 2009

Ten Catholic high schools will lose their funding from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and 14 Catholic elementary schools will close by the end of the year, according to the New York Times. The archdiocese cited lower enrollment and higher costs of operation as justification for the cut in funding. The decision comes as the economy continues its downturn, and some feel that it will have a direct impact on admissions at Fordham and at other Catholic universities.

Ten percent of Fordham’s 2008 freshman class is comprised of graduates from New York City area Catholic high schools, said Patricia Peek, associate director of admissions at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC). Out of the 424 freshmen at FCLC, 49 students, or 12 percent, are Catholic school graduates.

Among the schools affected by the cuts are Cardinal Hayes and Cardinal Spellman in the Bronx, Monsignor Farrell in Staten Island, and Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains.

Marc Valentin, FCLC ’11 and a graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School, said that his Catholic education played a large role in his choosing Fordham.

“Going to a Catholic high school was a big influence on my decision to go to Fordham because I happened to have several teachers who had gone to Fordham in the past, and only had good things to say about it,” he said.

According to Valentin, the question of the impact the funding cuts will have on Fordham is a valid one.

“The tuition in these [high] schools is kept stable thanks to the support of the diocese, but without it tuition will likely increase,” Valentin said. “After visiting Cardinal Spellman last year, I found out that many of the top-ranked students were opting to attend city or state schools simply because they couldn’t afford to attend the private colleges they were admitted to.”

Peek said, “We do not foresee a change to this population even though there have been discussions about proposed cuts in the schools…It is difficult to gauge how enrollment would be impacted in the near term, if at all, as the students at these schools will likely continue their college search in a similar fashion.”

Peek continued, “We have found that students at Catholic and, more specifically, Jesuit high schools are often predisposed to continuing a like education at the college level. In general, our local markets are, and always will be, important, but we are sensitive to demographic shifts and economic circumstances and, as a result, must be pro-active in cultivating new and distance markets,”

Valentin said, “If the students have to pay higher tuition every year… Fordham may be facing lower enrollment numbers from the Catholic schools that typically graduate a high [number] of future Fordham students.”

Swarna Gummadi, FCRH ’12, and a graduate of Maria Regina High School in Hartsdale, one of the schools affected by the cut, said that she felt her high school did a great job preparing her for college.

“[Maria Regina] was a good school that offered many advanced placement classes, excellent extra-curricular activities, and  great sports programs,” Gummadi said.

She continued, “Just last year, my teachers had to go on strike [because of] low pay. This took off two days of our school year and since it occurred a week before finals, everyone was affected, mainly students.”

Gummadi said she is concerned about the effect the cut in funding could have on students. “They won’t get the right amount of preparation for college and they will lose out on many advantages of a Catholic education,” she said.

Rev. Robert R. Grimes, S.J., dean of FCLC, said that the move to make the schools financially independent should be seen as a change rather than a cut.

“The Jesuit high schools in Manhattan, for example, never received funding from the archdiocese,” Grimes said. “They fund themselves in three ways: tuition, contributions, and building endowment.”

He said, “It is true that these [Catholic high schools] have long been feeder schools for Fordham. There is a tradition in these schools about attending Fordham. At this point, there is no danger that Fordham will lose that connectedness.”

Grimes said, “When I heard about the archdiocese’s decision, I did not think it was disastrous news. To me, it sounded like this was an opportunity for these schools to become stronger, and take responsibility for themselves.”

Shana Creaney, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’11 and also a graduate of Maria Regina High School, said that she fears the cut in funding will eventually impact Fordham.

“The high school I went to prepared me for things at Fordham far better than any public school education could have,” Creaney said. “If the funding cuts affect the level of education than this might indeed trickle down to the colleges.”

Valentin said, “I left Cardinal Spellman with a quality education that truly prepared me for the workload I would take on while in college, and at the same time, all the rules we had to adhere to gave me a sense of responsibility and discipline that has served me well in my time here at Fordham.”

According to the New York Times, the change in funding for the 10 affected high schools will take effect in September.