The Catholic Schools Task Force has submitted its recommendations to Bishop Matthew H. Clark, according to a diocesan statement issued in response to a news report.
Based on information the station said came from “members of the task force who spoke … on the condition of anonymity,” WHEC-TV Channel 10 reported Thursday evening, Jan. 10, that the task force had recommended the closing of several Catholic schools in the Diocese of Rochester.
However, diocesan spokesman Doug Mandelaro would only confirm that the task force had submitted its recommendations to the bishop Jan. 3. He declined to comment on the substance of the recommendations.
“Bishop Clark is prayerfully considering the recommendations, but has made no decisions,” Mandelaro told the Catholic Courier Thursday evening.
The diocesan statement noted that the bishop appointed the 23-member task force in September “to study critical issues facing Catholic Schools, including a more than 50-percent decline in enrollment over the past decade, escalating tuition costs and a growing budget deficit.”
The Catholic Courier will update this story online and in its print editions as further information becomes available.
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