Parents furious at meeting about Most Precious Blood School closure

Parents and students were shocked, upset and furious when they received an announcement on January, 9 that Most Precious Blood School — a presence in Astoria for over 50 years — would be closing in June.

Those feelings had not subsided by Wednesday night, when the Catholic K-8 school hosted a meeting for parents to discuss with them the decision to close the school and what steps parents should take next to get their children set up at another school for next school year.

Press was not allowed in the meeting, as the press secretary for the Brooklyn Archdiocese said it would be “disruptive” and “inappropriate,” but parents walking into the meeting were happy to share their opinions outside of the doors before heading in.

“It caught us off guard,” said Peter Hernandez, whose seven-year-old son has been going to the school since he was a toddler. “We are faithful parishioners of the church, and we felt that we were left in the dark of what was going on.”

Reverend William Krlis, the pastor of Most Precious Blood, wrote a letter and posted it on the school’s website outlining the decision on the closure.

In the letter, he says the closing of the school is “a particularly painful decision that affects all of us.”

The school must close, he said, because of dropping enrollment rates. The current enrollment in the K-8 school is 191 students, a significant drop from the 303 students enrolled in 2008.

Parents refuted this claim, saying that the Pre-K and nursery classes were not accounted for. With these added students, Hernandez said, enrollment would be over 300.

But the Diocese responded saying that those numbers cannot be counted in overall enrollment, because fewer than 40 percent of those children stay at the school when it comes time for kindergarten.

Rev. Krlis also blamed the closure on necessary repair costs for both the school and the adjoining Most Precious Blood Church, which he amounts to about $5.5 million.

According to his letter, the school needs $2.55 million in repairs, and the adjoining church building — which has a crumbling wall — needs another $3 million in repairs.

It has been reported that included in those school repairs are a new roof, boiler, windows and doors.

But, once again, the parents did not want to hear it.

Hernandez blamed the church for the school’s closing.

“I think the structure of the church is the reason the Brooklyn Archdiocese has decided to close the school,” he said, “because they can get the value of the property of the school.

“This is something that has to do with the church’s failing, and the only way to get the money they needed was to do something with this property,” he added.

In his letter, Rev. Krlis admitted that the school was not dealing with any financial struggles, but said that this did not matter.

“While financially we have not run deficits, these essential building repairs, combined with declining enrollment, will not allow us to continue,” he wrote.

A spokesperson said that the Diocese will look to rent out the school space as soon as possible, in order to fund the repairs needed at both buildings.

Parents are not willing to give up the fight, however. An online petition has gathered over 2,500 signatures to save the school.

Frank Farance, a father of twins in seventh grade at Most Precious Blood, said that the closure has been handled “irresponsibly.”

“My kids are in seventh grade. They’re not going to be able to complete their communion, because it happens in eighth grade,” Farance said. “They’re going to have difficulty getting into middle schools and transferring at this point, which gives difficulty into high school. It’s a real, real problem, especially for the middle schoolers.”

Calling the decision “thoughtless” and “careless,” Farance said that “this is not the Catholic way to do this.”

Elected officials have also gotten behind the parents. State Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblymember Aravella Simotas and Councilmember Costa Constantinides all sent a letter to the Diocese asking them to reconsider.

“The outpouring of support from the community and the fear parents are now experiencing over the planned closure of the Most Precious Blood School demonstrate just how much this institution means to our neighbors,” Senator Gianaris said. “I sincerely hope that the Diocese listens to the voices of our community and recommits itself to trying to find a way to keep this beloved school open.”