Bedford community hopes to save St. Thomas School

BEDFORD, Pa. (WJAC) -- Community members and business owners want St. Thomas The Apostle School to stay open.

St. Thomas principal Amy Higgins announced in January that the doors will close at the end of the school year for good, after more than 52 years.

According to the diocese, the school cannot afford to stay open under financial pressure and declining enrollment.

It's difficult to miss the "Save St. Thomas School" banners around downtown Bedford.

Dick Letrent hung one at the front of Letrent Pharmacy, which he has owned with his wife for decades.

"There's a lot of traffic that goes by here, and a lot of people look at it and it's brought awareness to what we're trying to do," Letrent said.

His five children and three grandchildren have all attended St. Thomas, and he said he remembers his son being in second grade there the year the school first opened.

"The fact that we're gonna lose that school, to me, it's like taking the cathedral out of Altoona," Letrent said.

Diocese secretary of communications Tony DeGol said that this year, St. Thomas has one second-grader and one fourth-grader.

The diocese reports that the school only has 24 students enrolled, which the Save St. Thomas group has contested.

The group counts 53 students, including preschoolers.

DeGol called the number "inaccurate" because school enrollment typically counts kindergarten through the highest grade the school offers.

"Most students enrolled in a preschool program go elsewhere for kindergarten. That has been the case at St. Thomas, even after the preschool expanded a few years ago. Only a fraction of the St. Thomas preschoolers have attended St. Thomas School. Furthermore, preschoolers do not attend the school the same amount of time each week as the other students, and families pay a preschool fee over small periods of time, versus an overall yearly tuition (for older students)," DeGol said.

The Save St. Thomas website said the parish and school have lacked a strategic plan for growth and increasing headcount.

The website details a lengthy plan to improve enrollment and financial stability, including a step that would create a 501 (c)(3).

"This 501(c)(3) will educate in accordance with Catholic education principles and is sanctioned by the Bishop or local Parish. The organization can be dissolved by the Bishop or Parish if the school would deviate from the Catholic faith-based approach to education," the website reads.

The full plan is detailed at savesaintthomasschool.com.

The web page said the group wants the church's blessing to move forward with the plan, and encourages people to contact the Fr. Richard Tomkosky, the church's pastor.

DeGol said the church still intends to close the school's doors at the end of the school year.

He said that the Parish can no longer afford to provide the $200,000 annually to the school to supplement operating expenses, staff salaries and benefits.

"We recognize the rich tradition of St. Thomas School in Bedford County, and we value the contributions of students, parents, faculty, staff and parishioners over the years. Unfortunately, it is impossible for the school to remain open with only 24 students and the mounting financial pressure it is placing on the parish," DeGol said.

Tomkosky has encouraged Catholic families in Bedford County to consider Holy Trinity Catholic School in Blair County.

"Some students from St Thomas Parish already attend the school, and the pastor supports the mission of Holy Trinity," DeGol said.

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