Group urges against closing St. Philip school

A group that includes parents of pupils at St. Philip Catholic School in Crafton is appealing to Bishop David Zubik to reverse his decision to close the school building as part of a merger.

The Pittsburgh Diocese recently announced the school would merge with St. Margaret of Scotland School in Green Tree, effective at the start of the 20212022 academic year, with the latter site hosting the newly merged school.

But the Committee to Save St. Philip School, in a news release, maintained that parish and school boards, parents, and other stakeholders were not adequately consulted. The group is represented by a canon lawyer to prepare a formal appeal, saying the closure process is invalid under canon (church) law.

The group has posted an online petition that it says has more than 2,000 signatures. “We felt this whole thing was done with zero transparency,” said one of the group’s organizers, Alexis Barone-Katze. The school, she said, has been a “pillar in our community” for more than a century. “Overnight, to be informed we’re stepping away from it is really a shock.”

The Rev. Thomas Kunz, associate general secretary/ for canonical services in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, said in a statement: “The closure of a school is somewhat unique in that there is no canonical process involved. However, a thorough process involving many people over many months was followed in making this difficult recommendation to Bishop David Zubik. We ask people to consider using their energy to come together with us to build a newly merged school that offers the strongest Catholic education possible and promotes the good news of the Gospel.”