2d parish school closes unexpectedly

An 82-year-old Catholic school in East Somerville closed yesterday because of declining enrollment and budget woes, leaving parents scrambling for options two weeks before school starts.

St. Benedict's Little Flower Elementary School will not reopen this fall, making it the second school in a week to be closed in the Archdiocese of Boston. Teachers were told Sunday night, and St. Benedict's pastor, the Rev. David Doucet, was scheduled to inform parents at a meeting last night,

The archdiocese and Doucet apologized in a statement for the lateness of the announcement. A spokesman for Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley said he does not expect to announce any more school closings before the school year starts. Since 2002, the archdiocese has closed at least 22 schools, including Little Flower, because of lower enrollment and budget deficits.

Tearful parents and teachers mourned the closing of Little Flower, which was attended by some families for generations. Some parents and students drove by the school yesterday afternoon for information. But they only saw a handwritten notice taped to the locked glass doors that read, ''Office is closed!!"

''This was going to be my last year," said Danielle Budge, 13, who was to begin eighth grade on Sept. 7, the first day of school. ''I can't believe it. I've been here since prekindergarten. I know they've been struggling for a while, but I still can't believe it."

Her mother, Peggy, had tears in her eyes as she described the tight-knit environment and the friendliness of the teachers. She said that she understands the financial reasons behind the closing, but that she questions the timing.

''I don't think they put much effort into trying to keep it open," Peggy Budge said.

Dottie Cassesso, a prekindergarten teacher for 12 years, said her husband, three children, and mother-in-law attended the red-brick school on Franklin Street.

''There's a lot of history and a lot of sadness," said Cassesso, who is Peggy Budge's sister. ''It's not just a school. It makes that part of Somerville what it is."

Little Flower is the sixth Catholic school to close this year. One week ago, St. Anthony's School in Allston closed after enrollment plunged from 187 students to 94. Secretary of State William F. Galvin said the closings, coming so close to the start of a new school year, indicated a lack of planning by the archdiocese.

''The key here is not that they're closing, which is bad, but the suddenness and abruptness of it, which creates real handicaps for families and students," Galvin said. ''The timing here is cruel."

He is involved in efforts to turn Our Lady of Presentation School in Brighton, which closed in June, into a private school.

The archdiocese has undertaken a study of enrollment at its 154 schools. Terrence C. Donilon, a spokesman for O'Malley, said, ''We don't anticipate any more closings before the start of school."

At Little Flower, enrollment slipped from 168 students last year to 147 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade for this fall.

The parish sought 172 students this year, but it became clear over the summer that the numbers did not bode well, said Sister Kathleen Carr, superintendent of the archdiocesan schools. Some 4-year-old students also transferred to the Somerville public schools, which created more seats for that age group.

Parish reserves that paid the tuitions of 10 students had been depleted, Carr said. Little Flower also faced a deficit of $130,000 and had eliminated five positions before it closed, she said.

''It deeply saddens me," Carr said. ''On the other hand, we do have seats in other schools, and if parents will stay the course with us, they'll be welcome."

Nine Catholic schools in Everett, Malden, Medford, and Somerville can absorb Little Flower's students, officials said.

Teachers will receive priority for openings at the archdiocese's schools. The fate of the school's building is up to the parish, the archdiocese said.

Through another priest at the rectory, Doucet declined to speak with a reporter.

The closings indicate a need to change the way business is done in Catholic schools, said the Rev. Joseph M. O'Keefe, dean of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.

Groups of Catholic schools in some cities, such as Indianapolis and New York, are looking at hiring full-time employees with expertise in finance and development to take over their administrative side, so pastors and principals can focus on education, O'Keefe said.

Such an arrangement might give schools a better shot at survival because of stronger financial planning, O'Keefe said.

''The structure doesn't work anymore," said O'Keefe, who has studied the enrollment and demographics of Catholic schools nationally. ''As long as the structure remains the way it is, this is going to happen."

Students said they will miss the tiny school. Twelve-year-old Kimberly Pereira, whose family's minivan sports a bumper sticker reading, ''I [heart] my student of the month at St. Benedict School," said she was looking forward to seeing her friends back in class.

''I wanted to stay here," said Pereira, a seventh-grader. ''I liked all my teachers and the principal. All my friends are here."