LI Diocese Closing 2 Nassau Catholic Elementary Schools

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — Due to declining enrollment and financial difficulties brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre announced Tuesday it will close two of its Nassau County elementary schools in June at the end of the school year.

The schools are Saint Raymond School in East Rockaway and Saint Thomas the Apostle School in West Hempstead. Students at those schools can transfer to other Catholic elementary schools in the area, the diocese said.

“We are deeply saddened by the closings of these two elementary schools,” said Sean P. Dolan,
director of communications for the diocese, in a statement. “The Diocese of Rockville Centre thanks the dedicated and committed principals and teachers, both lay and religious, who have taught in these schools.”

The diocese said the schools' financial troubles started before the pandemic, which then made things worse.

Saint Raymond School, which is nearly 100 years old, saw a steady decline in enrollment over the last five years, the diocese said. It began the 2020 school year with only 130 students in nursery through eighth grade.

According to the diocese, the parish of Saint Raymond provided more than $1 million in support to the school over those last five years to help keep it afloat. In the 2019-20 school year, the school needed $330,000 in support from the parish and the diocese.

Saint Thomas the Apostle School, which was founded in 1950, has also needed similar financial support from its parish. The school, which also serves nursery through eighth grade, began the 2020 school year with 209 students, and also received more than $1 million in subsidies over the last five years. In the 2019-20 school year, it received $272,000 from Saint Thomas the Apostle parish and the diocese.

The diocese said opening schools safely during the pandemic increased the financial strain.

“Unfortunately, enrollment loss combined with the impact of COVID-19 on both parish offertory
collections and fundraising efforts, has made it clear that it is not feasible to maintain these
schools financially,” Dolan said.

The diocese said anyone with questions can contact a hotline at 516-280-4124 or email education@drvcschools.org.