St. Barbara Catholic School closes; low enrollment, loss of faculty and debt risk cited

Charita M. Goshay and Amy L. Knapp, The Repository
·3 min read
4
In 2019, the late Bishop George Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown visited St. Barbara School in Massillon to bless its renovated library. The diocese recently announced that the school is closing due to low enrollment, staff reductions, and a risk of debt. The closing leaves Massillon with one Catholic school, St. Mary.
In 2019, the late Bishop George Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown visited St. Barbara School in Massillon to bless its renovated library. The diocese recently announced that the school is closing due to low enrollment, staff reductions, and a risk of debt. The closing leaves Massillon with one Catholic school, St. Mary.

MASSILLON – St. Barbara Catholic School has closed; the result of low enrollment, the departure of teachers and other staff, and the risk of incurring a large debt, leaving the city with a single parochial school.

The Very Rev. Canon Maciej M. Mankowski, pastor of St. Barbara's parish, announced the closing on Friday, followed by in a letter distributed during weekend Masses.

In the letter, Mankowski said the original plan was to have a single principal oversee St. Barbara and St. Mary schools for the 2023 academic year, but that the small enrollment at St. Barbara of just 61 students and nine preschoolers, departures of some faculty and staff, plus the loss of some alumni and parishioners who were significant contributors, left the school with little choice.

He added that school leaders will communicate with and work with families to assist their transition to St. Mary School or another school.

St. Barbara School is rooted in history and tradition

A longtime fixture in the Massillon community, the Catholic school at 2809 Lincoln Way W. has seen many changes throughout its history. In 2019, an anonymous donor made a $55,000 gift to the St. Barbara's to upgrade its library.

In 2012, as the Youngstown diocese revealed its plan to consolidate Stark County’s 11 Catholic elementary schools into a single academy with 11 campuses, a steering committee was formed to look at the future of St. Barbara and St. Mary schools.

The steering committee recommended sixth, seventh and eighth grades be removed from St. Barbara. The school went into the 2013-14 school year serving students in preschool through fifth grade.

Since then, the school returned to educating sixth, seventh and eighth graders. The school also saw leadership change frequently and its enrollment numbers continue to dwindle.

The parish and school were established in 1866. In 2017, while celebrating the parish's 151st anniversary, students sent 151 gold balloons into the air to remind the community the school that was rooted in history and tradition was prepared to educate students based on Catholic traditions and scripture.

Most Reverend David Bonnar,Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown speaks at the Blue Mass held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Canton.
Most Reverend David Bonnar,Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown speaks at the Blue Mass held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Canton.

In his letter to the St. Barbara community, Catholic Diocese of Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar said the closing and consolidation was necessary but he also acknowledged the parishioners' sense of loss

"I know that as you read this letter, you are sad for what you will be losing," he wrote. "But as the Catholic community of Massillon, we need to proactive rather than reactive. Therefore we will need to create a solid and financially viable Catholic school by using the St. Mary School building. Using one building will achieve a strong Catholic school presence in the city of Massillon.

"The aim of this combined effort is to provide high quality Catholic education that protects and fosters the importance of Catholic identity."

Mankowski has invited St. Barbara families to attend an open house at St. Mary Catholic School at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

St. Mary, at 640 First St. NE, recently hired a new principal, Lucia Huddleston.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: St. Barbara Catholic School in Massillon is closing