By EDMUND M. SILVESTRE

The recently announced closings of several Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn sent shivers to Filipino parents whose children attend the schools that are not reopening in September.

Those affected by the closings said they are having a hard time accepting the decision and picturing themselves elsewhere next school year.

“My children and I were shocked by the news,” said Melina Mijares of Queens, N.Y. Her two children — Dean, 9; and Gabriella, 4 — attend St. Teresa’s Catholic School, which is only two blocks away from their home in Woodside.

“It’s my alma mater and it’s a really, really good school and very convenient for my children,” she told the Filipino Reporter. “It’s family-oriented where children are very friendly with each other, the 8th graders taking care of the younger students.”

Mijares said she and other parents — many of them Filipinos — became aware of the school’s financial problems caused by declining enrollment and increasing costs. “But we didn’t expect it to close that soon,” she said.

In 1965, enrollment at St. Teresa’s was placed at 1,000.

In 2005, it’s 176. There are 19 children in the 6th grade and there could be none next year.

“The enrollment drives the financial picture,” said the school principal, Martin Abruzzo. “Unless we have something to back that financial pool, then the operation must cease to be.”

Mijares said for the past two years, the parents guild at St. Teresa’s helped raise funds for the school through a candy drive and fashion show, among other things.

But their efforts won’t be enough to salvage the school. According to Abruzzo, St. Teresa’s will need $500,000 or more next year “to get back on our feet” and meet a million-dollar budget.”

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens — home to thousands of Filipino families — announced just recently the closing of 22 schools.

It was followed by the announcement of closure of six Catholic schools in Manhattan, including Saint Anthony’s School in Greenwich Village, which will be folding up after 130 years.

“The demographics changed. What were once very Catholic neighborhoods might not be very Catholic anymore over the course of time. There are perhaps fewer school age children overall living in those areas,” said Joseph Zwilling who is the archdiocese’s spokesperson.

Other causes for the decline include a decreasing pool of religious personnel to administer and teach in these schools; higher salaries for lay persons who now largely staff these schools; increased tuition for students; and the movement of millions of Catholics out of cities and into suburbs.

Zwilling said the Archdiocese of New York — which includes Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, and Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester Counties — has watched enrollment dip by 5,000 students over the last five years — bringing the number of pupils served to 110,000 at 287 elementary and secondary schools.

Enrollment in the diocesan and parish schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn has gone from 83,000 in 1967 to 49,000 today.

Zwilling said a realignment is underway looking at more schools in more parishes. There could also be an announcement of more closings in the next six months to a year.

Parents, teachers and staff members at some of the unaffected academies worry that they could be next.

Zwilling said the closing decisions were based on long-term rather than year-to-year enrollment patterns and the $3.1 million cost of subsidizing the six schools in question.

Mijares said public school is out of the question for her children. “They (public schools) are overcrowded in our area,” she said.

Most likely, her children will move to an affiliated school, St. Raphael’s, on 37th Street.