Despite a sea of rumors swirling around the Cutchogue community Wednesday, Alexandra Conlan, the new principal of Our Lady of Mercy Regional School, said there is no truth to the speculaiton.
“We are absolutely not closing,” Conlan said in a phone interview Wednesday. Of the closing rumors, Conlan added, “It was just like a runaway train.”
Conlan said she received a phone call Wednesday morning from the school’s bus company; a conversation someone had had, “whirled out of context” and sparked the rumors, she said.
Sean P. Dolan, spokesman for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, confirmed, “There is no plan to close the school at this point.”
But, he said, “With any Catholic school, you can’t make a blanket statement that a school will never close. The viability is based on enrollment and support. If there’s not enrollment and not sufficient support, the viability of the school comes into question.”
In the case of Our Lady of Mercy, Dolan said the Diocese is working with the parishes and North Fork community “to come up with a plan to help ensure the school continues to remain viable.”
Dolan said he could not share details of the plan.
For Catholic schools across the board, Dolan said, “There is a concern with enrollment. I don’t want to single that school out and have it be different from anyone else.”
Our Lady of Mercy, he said, is in a “unique situation. There aren’t many Catholic schools in the area so it’s also strategically important.”
But students can rest assured that school will start as planned in September. “We’re not closing. We’re very active,” Conlan said.
Conlan, who will begin her first year this fall, replaces former principal Lorraine Delgenio — Steven Cheeseman served as interim principal until Conlan was hired — and said exciting things are happening at the school.
Enrollment is ongoing and the preschool program, she said, is expanding to a full day session this year for three and four years olds; both morning and after care will be offered.
All other programs are ongoing for students in the school, which includes grades K through 6, with a full staff and offerings of Spanish, gym, music, and art, Conlan said.
“It’s everything we’ve been doing previously and perhaps, enhancing some of it,” she said.
To kick off the school year, a barbecue will be held in August to introduce Conlan to students, families and the community, Conlan said; a date and time have not yet been announced.
Our Lady of Mercy, founded in 1958, is a private Catholic elementary school located on Route 25 next to Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Parish, which closed a year ago; the school’s curriculum is overseen by the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
For months, speculations has been swirling about whether the Sacred Heart Parish in Cutchogue would be sold; last year, Sean P. Dolan, spokesman for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, said no decisions had been made. Dolan said on Wednesday that there have been questions about the church builidng and the convent, “but I don’t have any information at this point. ” Staffers are not available due to summer schedules, he said. “I can’t give you an update,” he said.
Earlier this year, however, members of the church, the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, and the church said they were working together to consider possible adaptive reuses should a sale commence.
In March, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said possible new zoning might be considered for potential churches on the block in town, and he suggested the Southold Town planning board weigh in.
Currently, churches in town are zoned agricultural conservation (AC) or Rural Residential Preservation (R-80), he said.
“We have a lot of historic churches and we need to think of a game plan. The last thing we want to see is people buying them and razing them,” Russell said.
