By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

ROYAL OAK — The pastor of St. Dennis Catholic Church has recommended to the Archdiocese of Detroit that the grade school connected to the parish be closed, but a group of parents and former students is rallying to save the school.

In a letter to the parish, the Rev. John Christ said the church has had to make up approximately $500,000 in school budget shortfalls in the past five years, and is looking at a possible $120,000 shortfall this year, which the parish cannot afford.

When C & G Newspapers called the parish for further inquiry, a woman answering the phone at the church said, “I have no comment,” and hung up on the reporter.

The school, with 115 students in kindergarten through eighth-grade, is located along with the church at the corner of 12 Mile Road and Stephenson Highway. The school also has an early childhood development center with an additional 124 students in it.

“We need the archdiocese to be our hero, our guiding light,” said Patty Schowalter, who owns and operates the early childhood development center. “What is going to happen is we are going to have 240 students displaced (if the school is closed).”

The school was established in 1956, six years after the parish began. The early childhood development center started up in 2006.

A group of parents has begun a letter-writing campaign and have established a Web site to disseminate information. A Facebook group, Stop St. Dennis From Closing, has been established, with more than 700 people having quickly joined.

Katie Moseley, who started the Facebook group in mid-January, said she was surprised at how soon people found the page and supported the cause.

“St. Dennis is not just a school, it’s a community,” said Moseley, a 2004 St. Dennis grad. “Everyone is really close and pushes you to do your best.”

She said the small school and its inclusive atmosphere help kids try more activities and branch out.

Rebecca Lama, who helps run the early childhood development center and has children in the school, said St. Dennis has a waiting list for the infant care, and they are slowly building up kindergarten class size through their program.

“What we are doing is planting a seed for parents to realize this is their child’s second home,” she said. “We are a big family here.”

Lama said they’ve had several parents who never planned a Catholic education for their children enroll their students in the grade school after completion of their program.

In his letter to the parish, Christ said the school has 20 less students than last year, and they anticipate more losses if tuition is raised in 2010-2011.

“We also have … other Catholic elementary schools within an approximate (10-mile) radius of St. Dennis who are all competing for the same pool of school age students,” he wrote.

The St. Dennis School Advisory Committee, which is rallying support for the school, has written the archdiocese pleading their case. They said after school started this year, there were more students enrolled than the parish indicated in its letter, and that they are only actually down 13 students this year. And 22 students from pre-kindergarten are planning to enter the school next year, they said.

“Lastly, in spite of the repeated rumors of our imminent closure and with virtually no support from Parish leadership, the school still receives weekly inquiries from parents wishing to bring their children to our school,” they wrote. “Our reputation precedes us.”

For more information on the effort to save the school, visit www.stdennisparents.org. For more information on the school, visit www.stdennis.org.