Archdiocese to Announce Plan on Naugatuck Catholic Schools; Merger Likely

The head of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Hartford will meet with a group of Naugatuck parents next week to present a plan that could include the merger of two elementary institutions, St. Francis and St. Hedwig.

Superintendent Dale Hoyt, who leads the Office of Catholic Schools for the archdiocese, will make his proposal on the future of the two K-8 schools in a meeting that is open only to the parents, said Maria Zone, spokesman for the archdiocese. Zone said all the details from the proposal will be made public after the two parties gather.

The meeting is slated for 7 p.m. next Wednesday, March 2, at St. Francis Parish.

St. Francis and St. Hedwig have been hampered with low enrollment and increasing debt over the past decade, whether Catholic education could be sustained in Naugatuck. Merging both of the schools has been seen as the most likely option, moving all of the students into the larger facility at St. Francis School.

The joint school to break even on finances. Reports from the archdiocese show that the cost to educate each student is higher than that of the tuition the students pay.

Archdiocesan officials have declined to state that the schools are merging, although they said it is a likely possibility. The archdiocese has been conducting several meetings to gather information from parents and school officials, through a consulting process. While the closed meeting with parents is held at St. Francis, the parents of St. Hedwig are also invited to attend.

“We feel they should know together so there is no controversy as to who should know first,” Zone said.

Zone said the parents were notified by letter of the meeting. She said she expected a "full house" of 200 parents to attend.

Whatever Hoyt’s proposal may be, Zone said it would go into effect for the 2011-12 school year.

“Nothing is going to change before the end of (this) school year,” she said.