Sag Harbor Catholic school risks closure

Catholic authorities are scrambling to keep a regional school in the Hamptons open next year, following the recent announced resignation of its principal and the closings of three other church schools across Long Island.

Stella Maris Regional School in Sag Harbor has run up a financial deficit of close to $500,000 in recent years and requires subsidies this year and in 2012, diocesan officials said Tuesday.

To keep the 187-student school running this year, the Diocese of Rockville Centre has granted it $90,000 -- the largest subsidy provided any Catholic school on the Island this year. Diocesan officials say they've given Stella Maris priority because of a scarcity of Catholic schools in the Hamptons.

As a next step, parents will be asked whether they intend to enroll their children in Stella Maris next year. To avoid closure next year, the school needs to enroll a minimum 102 students in grades K through 8 and tighten its spending, officials say. Current enrollment in those grades is 127, with another 60 children in nursery and preschool classes.

"It's up to the parents now to make a commitment for next year," said Sean Dolan, a spokesman for the diocese which oversees schools on the Island.

During the past year, the diocese has announced the closing of schools in Mineola, Massapequa Park and Valley Stream. Closings reflect economic pressures, which make it difficult for parents to pay tuition averaging about $4,100 a year Islandwide, and enrollment declines.

Stella Maris' principal, Jane Fitzgerald Peters will step down at the end of this academic year, Dolan confirmed Tuesday. Her resignation was first announced locally April 12.

In recent weeks, some staffers and parents at Stella Maris have complained privately that the school's finances were poorly managed. Dolan described Peters Tuesday as a successful fundraiser for scholarships.

Dolan did acknowledge that Stella Maris' budget will have to be carefully managed next year if the school is to survive. An "austerity" plan for next year calls for combining fifth- and sixth-grade classes, which together now enroll 18 students, along with seventh- and eighth-grades, which enroll a total of 20.

Stella Maris draws students from Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Montauk, Sag Harbor and Shelter Island. The area's other Catholic school, Our Lady of the Hamptons, is 11 miles away in Southampton.

Michael Taglich a father of four Stella Maris students, said some families would switch to Our Lady of the Hamptons if the school closed. Taglich acknowledged that the Southampton school might not have room for all students from Stella Maris. He said the Sag Harbor school, which provided strong instruction combined with traditional religious values, was worth saving.

"It builds a little church in each child's heart," he said.