An Owings Mills contractor who has offered the Archdiocese of Baltimore $700,000 to offset transportation costs for children displaced by the closing of 12 elementary schools has taken to the airwaves, encouraging families to take advantage of his offer.
He's been on the radio before. Danny Schuster, owner of a concrete company, is well known for his advertisements protesting recent Catholic school closings. He has taken a different tack this time, hoping to boost enrollment by helping students get to schools, including Holy Angels, an elementary the archdiocese is opening this fall on the campus of Seton Keough High School. There had been some concern that there would not be enough transferring students to fill the school.
"Transportation can be a big stumbling block for many of these families," Schuster said.
With radio advertisements and an assist from two of his employees, Schuster is letting families know that a bus ride is available. His employees are contacting families to explain the bus routes and costs.
The newly established routes would carry children from a stop at or near their former school, which, for many, is within walking distance of home, to a school that remains open.
"The archbishop and I have worked out a transportation plan," he said. "Our goal is to get as many of these kids to take advantage of the offer and to continue their Catholic education."
The effort has helped enroll about 120 students, many of them at Holy Angels. The children come from families who were on the fence about registering and who have decided to enroll because buses are available, said church officials.
"Our goal is 600," Schuster said. "And we will keep working at it. We want to welcome these families back and we are getting a really good reception."
Students from closed city schools such as Father Charles Hall and St. Bernadine could, for example, take a bus to Holy Angels. Initially, the elementary classes will be housed in a renovated portion of the high school. But if enrollment warrants, long-range plans call for a new building on the Wilkens Avenue campus.
"Often it's only a distance of a few miles, but the bus service will mean children can get to and from school safely," said Sean Caine, spokesman for the archdiocese. "We want to remove any transportation barriers."
The archdiocese has committed to 10 buses, which can each carry about 40 students. Administrators will procure more buses, if the need is there, Caine said.
"We are grateful to have this partnership with Mr. Schuster and we are hoping it bears fruit," Caine said. "Basically, we are committed to working with any family for whom transportation costs are prohibitive."
Declining enrollment and increased operational costs have caused the archdiocese to close 28 of its schools since 2000. In March, after months of study, the archdiocese unveiled a consolidation program that closed a dozen elementary schools and Cardinal Gibbons High School, a plan that affected about 2,000 students. Officials will not know exactly how many will enroll in another Catholic school until mid-August at the earliest, Caine said.
Schuster used radio advertising to protest the closings. But he ultimately came to understand the need to address sagging enrollment and increased costs, he said.
He struck a compromise with the archdiocese and has agreed to subsidize transportation to bring the cost to families down to $10 per student per month or less for the neediest families. The transportation subsidy will involve much of the money that Schuster originally pledged in his effort to keep Catholic elementary schools in the city open.
"Our message is that if you choose to stay in a Catholic school, we will get you there," Schuster said.
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