When students currently attending All Hallows and St. Peter Schools in Sacramento pack their backpacks for school next fall, their destination will be the same.

With the closure of St. Peter School at 6200 McMahon Dr., student bodies from both campuses will merge at a new yet to be named school located at the All Hallows’ site at 5700 13th Ave.

A third Catholic elementary school, St. Lawrence School in North Highlands, will consolidate eight grades into four classes in the fall.

Parents, faculty, staff and parishioners of all three schools were notified of the changes in letters that went out to parents in mid-March from pastors at All Hallows, St. Peter and St. Lawrence parishes.

Father Rodolfo Llamas, pastor of All Hallows and St. Peter, said school and parish communities are determined to ensure that the decision to merge the two schools will “provide all students with a very good Catholic education supported by a strong team of teachers.”

“Most parents are saying if it’s a good school providing a good education, changing its name doesn’t matter,” he noted.

Those who criticize the Diocese of Sacramento for not continuing subsidies and loans to the schools or place the blame on the possible cost of settling clergy sexual abuse cases, Father Llamas said, miss the root of the problem.

“The diocese has been supporting schools running in red numbers. It’s not fair to ask for more. They really just don’t have more to give,” he said. “We need as a school to be self-sufficient.”

The Sacramento Diocese operates 54 elementary and secondary schools serving about 16,000 students. Each school has its own budget and sets its own tuition, which, according to diocesan officials, ranges for elementary schools from $2,475 to $5,150.

Tom McNamara, chief financial officer for the diocese, noted in a press statement Feb. 25 that declining enrollment at some schools has required diocesan subsidies or advances to keep the doors open.

“Assistance funds are nearly exhausted and the financial future of the diocese is uncertain at this time,” McNamara said.

Patty Peterson, principal of All Hallows School, said that changing demographics in the area contributed mightily to the financial woes of both All Hallows and St. Peter Schools.

“A long time ago all these houses were owned by people who had kids in schools. It’s an aging community now,” she said. “The population of the neighborhoods between St. Peter and All Hallows is only 50,000.”

An ad hoc committee made up of parishioners, parents, administrators, and Father Llamas examined many options to address declining enrollment, including combining classes at each site.

Committee member Barbara Kelly, a member of All Hallows Parish and chairwoman of its finance council, said of 13 options considered, none except the decision to merge seemed to provide the promise to “not just survive but thrive.”

“Each school is very near and dear to parents,” Kelly said. “In the end combining our school seemed to best enhance opportunities for children.”

A shared vision for the new school calls for expansion of the gymnasium into a multipurpose center and the addition of a science lab.

Peterson sees the creation of the new Catholic school serving Tahoe Park and Fruitridge-area children is “actually a godsend.”

“We will have a new logo and new uniforms. Parents and children will have the opportunity to build a very vibrant, active community from the ground up,” she said.

Sister Beatriz Gomez, a Sister Servant of the Blessed Sacrament and principal of St. Peter School, said the school’s current enrollment of 173 students and a decline in neighborhood population seemed to predict “a not very promising future.”

“The decision was by no means easy to come to,” she said. “We had to be creative to continue providing Catholic education for students who go on to contribute greatly to society as citizens.”

Sister Gomez, who will leave her position at St. Peter at the end of the year to serve as vice provincial of the Sister Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, said the principal of the new school, Sister Maryanne Beeler, brings with her considerable experience as an administrator whose charism is education.

“Sister Beeler will provide the guidance needed to put into action the vision we have for this wonderful new school,” she said. “We want to go from better to excellent.”

Sister Beeler, also a member of the Sister Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, worked as school secretary at St. Peter School in 1974-75 and has been a teacher and vice principal at various schools in California. Since 1999, she has served as a teacher and assistant principal at Vincent Memorial Catholic High School in Calexico, Calif.

Juan Mendoza, a parent member of St. Peter’s ad hoc committee, said decline in enrollment, a decrease in fund raising at the school and a cutback on subsidies the diocese can provide for struggling schools all factored into the decision to merge with All Hallows.

He said parent reaction to the decision ranged from hurt and disappointment to gratitude that at least students will continue to have a Catholic school to attend.

“I believe parents will give us a second chance to provide a good, wholesome Catholic education for their children,” said Mendoza, who shares his second grade daughter’s sadness in leaving St. Peter School.

He also anticipates sharing her excitement next fall when she becomes part of a new Catholic school community.

“Children make up the school, not the walls,” Mendoza said.

Father Joseph Ternullo, pastor of St. Lawrence Parish in North Highlands, said the consolidation of classes at St. Lawrence School next fall was the direct result of steadily declining enrollment in an area experiencing an increased elderly population and a decline in population growth.

“We’ve had an air base close (McClellan Air Force Base) and growth in terms of new homes all around us,” he said. “In 1991 our enrollment was 307 and this year it is 153.”

Between 2001 and 2003, student enrollment dropped from 245 to 203.

Father Ternullo added that the diocese has allowed the parish to defer some payments, a situation, he said, that “can’t go on forever.”

He said the diocese’s Catholic Schools Department and St. Lawrence school advisory commission determined the best way to keep the school open and balance the budget was to combine classes.

“Some people are unhappy with the decision and some are OK with it,” he noted. “What’s important is to realize this is happening nationwide. Surrounding public and private schools here are facing similar problems.”

Statistics provided by the Catholic Schools Department show the enrollment of K-12 Catholic school students in the diocese in 1991 was 16,346. It rose to 17,496 in 1995, before declining to 16,039 in 2004.

The National Center for Educational Statistics shows a similar plunge in enrollment in K-12 Catholic school students nationwide, from 3.14 million in 1979-1980 to 2.55 million in 2002-2003.

In recent months, many dioceses around the country have announced school closings, primarily in urban areas. In March, the Detroit Archdiocese announced that it will close 15 schools, including seven high schools and eight elementary schools, at the end of this school year. The Diocese of Brooklyn will close and/or consolidate 26 of its parish elementary schools, and 23 city and suburban elementary schools in the Chicago Archdiocese will close their doors as part of a restructuring plan.

Dom Puglisi, superintendent of Catholic schools, emphasized the Sacramento Diocese’s commitment to “explore new ways of thinking and new ways of carrying out the important ministry” to Catholic schools in the Feb. 25 press statement.

“Models that worked 30 or 40 years ago may no longer be viable, and all schools must continually retool for the future,” Puglisi said.

Looking to the future, St. Lawrence hopes to bring in new students and families to rebuild enrollment through recruitment at two neighboring parishes, St. Clare Parish in Roseville and the new Divine Mercy Parish in the north Natomas area of Sacramento.

“If everyone promotes the school and we get up to 197 students, all grades would be separate,” Father Ternullo said. “It’s a huge challenge.”

Henry Nanjo, president of the of the school’s advisory commission, said the silver lining is the fact that St. Lawrence School is “a very strong community.”

“There has even been an indication by the teachers they might consider job sharing to prevent loss of jobs,” he said. “There’s a sense of family here.”

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