Lots of of scholars, lecturers, dad and mom and alumni cheered one another on as State Legal professional Basic Letitia James listened to them speak about how closing Preston Excessive College would irreparably hurt the group and the way forward for its present college students.
Credit score: Sadie Brown
Lots of of individuals flooded the auditorium of Lehman Excessive College Tuesday night time, whereas lots of extra watched on-line as New York State Legal professional Basic Letitia James listened to over three hours of testimony from generations of ladies who’re combating desperately to save lots of their beloved Preston Excessive College, an all-girls Catholic college in Throggs Neck set to shut in June.
Present college students, dad and mom, college and alumni advised James that “The Bronx needs Preston,” at instances turning into emotional whereas describing the friendships, help, management expertise, tutorial success and ethical compass all of them say they owe to Preston Excessive College.
The listening to follows months of rallies, petitions and organizing from the group in Throggs Neck and an escalating dispute with the varsity’s landlord, the Sisters of the Divine Compassion. The sisters’ management crew – who additionally make up 50% of Preston’s Board of Trustees – didn’t attend the listening to, however famous in an announcement that it got here to the choice to shut the varsity as a result of declining enrollment, monetary instability and growing older infrastructure.
Amongst those that spoke was Katie Ann Gannon, a historical past trainer at Preston who started her place this tutorial 12 months however whose ties to the varsity run deep. She grew up listening to her mom’s tales about attending Preston within the Nineteen Eighties, later turning into a pupil herself and graduating in 2019.
“Preston is thriving,” Gannon mentioned, rejecting the board’s claims that the varsity is not viable. “It’s not just a school, it’s a feeling,” she added. “You feel it in every hallway, every classroom, every parent, every alum who begins with pride saying that they went here.”
Historical past teacher Katie Ann Gannon mentioned that she was devastated to study that Preston Excessive College would shut on the finish of the 12 months and described consoling her college students as they cried about dropping buddies, alternatives and experiences that have been distinctive to their all-girls Catholic College. Credit score: Sadie Brown
The Legal professional Basic’s workplace oversees nonprofit organizations just like the Sisters of the Divine Compassion in New York to make sure fiscal duty, correct governance and that they continue to be true to their charitable missions. Addressing the packed auditorium James emphasised the significance of transparency and mentioned that boards needs to be speaking “clearly and frequently with their constituents.”
“We want to make sure that they exercise appropriate care in their decision making and consider the impact of their decisions on the people they serve,” James mentioned.
All through the night time, advocates for Preston Excessive repeatedly mentioned they felt blindsided by the February announcement to shut the varsity, claiming that they had by no means been made conscious of any issues from the Sisters about declining enrollment, infrastructure points, or monetary instability. Twenty-five individuals testified over the course of the night.
The Sisters, not eager to be landlords and advancing in age, initially agreed to promote the property after prolonged negotiations to Preston Excessive College. Nonetheless, a former board member mentioned {that a} dispute that delayed the varsity’s first cost led the sisters to stroll away from the deal.
In March, the varsity group was hopeful that it had discovered a strategy to keep open when elected officers helped negotiate and provide to buy the varsity by way of Bally’s Basis, the charitable arm of Bally’s Company that operates the golf course at Ferry Level Park and hopes to construct a on line casino and resort at that location.
Bally’s Basis supplied to purchase the varsity for the Sisters’ asking worth of $8.5 million and contribute a further $1.5 million to restore any “aging infrastructure.” The muse additionally agreed to lease the property to Preston for 25 years at $1 per 12 months, with the choice for the varsity to purchase it sooner or later.
However the Sisters rejected the provide within the eleventh hour, with seemingly no rationalization and introduced that their choice to shut the varsity was closing.
However the ladies of Preston Excessive College, and the group that supported them pushed on, contacting James’ workplace and asking her to look into the choice. Their efforts lead James to carry Tuesday’s listening to.
James listened to over three hours of testimony of Preston Excessive College college, college students, dad and mom and alumni inform her they have been by no means given any warning concerning the potential closing of their college and have been minimize out of the choice making course of. Credit score: Sadie Brown
College directors disputed the claims of declining enrollment, explaining that the varsity’s capability was lowered after repurposing lecture rooms for one-on-one instruction and a media lab. They mentioned present enrollment is definitely close to full capability and persevering with to develop.
They mentioned that in actuality, enrollment is near 100% of capability and rising. Preston Excessive College Principal Jennifer Connolly advised James that the sisters listed “changing demographics” as certainly one of their causes to shut the varsity and questioned what the time period was referring to and why it will even matter.
The sisters haven’t elaborated about what precisely the time period was referring to, however a number of individuals who testified related “changing demographics” to race. Emily Marino, who graduated in 2011, mentioned that the variety at Preston Excessive College was a power.
“Sisters of Divine Compassion listed changing demographics as one of the reasons for the closure,” Marino mentioned. “The Bronx has experienced significant ethnic diversification through the Borough’s history, and that should be commended by the Education Board, not condemned.”
Andrea Donkor, a faculty alumni who helped arrange a gaggle of Preston graduates referred to as “Preston Forever,” advised the Bronx Instances that “changing demographics” was not a justifiable cause to shut the varsity, calling it a “superfluous point.”
“ Schools are supposed to serve the communities within which they lie and that is what Preston is doing,” Donkor mentioned. “Its enrollment is reflecting the changing demographics. It is not an indication of change in the academic rigor or capability of the young ladies that come through its doors.”
The scholars who shared testimony advised James that different faculties couldn’t provide them the identical alternatives, wonderful lecturers and monetary help as Preston and that transferring so late of their highschool years would derail their paths to a future they’d been working onerous to realize.
Cielo John, Junior Class President at Preston Excessive College and member of its championship profitable volleyball crew, advised the Legal professional Basic that closing Preston Excessive College wouldn’t solely rob her of the chance to change into Pupil Physique President subsequent 12 months, however that it will additionally break aside a crew that had change into a lot greater than that.
“We will lose our family and we would most likely not be considered in joining the same sport at a different school, as other young women have been working for those spots at their own school since they started,” John mentioned. “It is not fair to make those ladies pay for our own misfortune, but it is certainly not fair that we have to be put in a position to fight for their spots in the first place.”
