By Eileen Connelly, OSU

HAMILTON DEANERY — Although St. Julie Billiart School in Hamilton will close at the end of this academic year, Father Mike Pucke, pastor at St. Julie Billiart, is optimistic about the future of Catholic education in the area.

Approval to close the school came at the end of February from Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk.

The news comes after the pastors, principals and representatives from four area parishes had met to discuss plans for greater collaboration, prompted by declining enrollment and increasing costs. St. Julie’s enrollment is currently at 108 students. A feasibility study, examining issues such as geography and finances, was also conducted.

Ultimately, the two other parishes involved in the process withdrew, leaving St. Julie and St. Peter in Chains, under the leadership of Father Timothy Bunch, pastor, to move forward.

As a first step in the process, said Father Pucke, a school for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade from both schools will be established at St. Peter’s campus for the 2008-2009 academic year. All children from both parishes who wished to attend the school were accommodated during the registration period, which was held from Jan. 27 to Feb. 15.

To date, 63 students from St. Julie’s will be attending St. Peter’s. The school will be administered by St. Peter in Chains Parish, with each faith community providing financial support and/or subsidy for the school. St. Peter in Chains will give first consideration to current St. Julie Billiart faculty for any new hires that may be needed for the new academic year.

In addition, a transition team will be appointed by the two pastors, comprised of representatives both parishes and other members deemed appropriate. This group will work with the principal of the school to facilitate the inclusion of students and families into one student body and focus on the implementation of the principals and goals of the Butler County Catholic Education Collaborative Phase II — Feasibility Analysis and Operating Plan. The administration and staff of the school will commit to working toward the implementation of the educational core strategies found in the plan.

Besides the joint efforts for the students, the parishes of St. Peter in Chains and St. Julie Billiart will support a framework in which other parishes in Butler County can join the collaborative regional approach as envisioned in the operating plan, Father Pucke said.

The parishes will also charge the transition team to have as priorities other areas of collaboration such regional youth ministry, a child development center and joint marketing, recruitment and fund-raising.

Father Pucke said he, Father Bunch, parishioners and parents share a "real hope that the future of Catholic education will grow more solid through collaboration now and in the future."

Marianist Brother Joseph Kamis, archdiocesan superintendent of Catholic schools, praised the parishes’ collaborative approach, saying, "I admire the pastors for staying with the process and looking out for the good of Catholic education in the area. It’s so much easier to collaborate with others than to go it alone. The key is forge a direction for the future, rather than letting the future direct you."