Bad News For St. Ann School In Hornell

Font size:

February 16, 2012

HORNELL, NY - A school that has served the Hornell area for nearly 150 years will be closing down at the end of this school year. With tears in his eyes at Thursday night's meeting at the Hornell Knights of Columbus, Father Peter Anglaaere, pastor of Our Lady of the Valley Parish, announced that he will recommend to Bishop Matthew Clark that St. Ann School be closed next year. The reasons are simply financial. It costs in the area of $500,000 annually to operate St. Anns and in fact the shcool will have to struggle to meet costs for the remainder of this year.

In addition, the Diocese of Rochester has ordered that every Catholic school have at least 6 months operating expenses on hand at the opening of a school year, a near impossibility for the cash-strapped St. Ann School in Hornell.

Father Anglaaere's announcement came at the conclusion of a two hour meeting attended by over 100 parishoners at the Knights of Columbus. Several mothers of students made impassioned and tearful pleas for the school to remain open.

There are presently 65 students in grades one through six. The priest promised that if he receives $500,000, he will change his recommendation to the bishop. That however seems very unlikely.

Father Peter hinted very strongly that it is coming down to a choice of the school or parish surviving, and he promised that every effort will be made to educate children in Catholic doctrine pursuing other means than the school. He also stated that if every Catholic parent sent their children to St. Ann School, there would be no need to recommend closing.