The threat to inner-city Catholic high schools

Connecticut is on the verge of ending Catholic school choice for inner-city high school children in the Archdiocese of Hartford for good. This would require inner-city Black and Hispanic students to find transportation or be bused to white communities to find a Catholic school education.

Just imagine, if the state’s public schools denied inner-city children (Blacks and Hispanics) the opportunity to get an education but allowed students from white communities the opportunity to get an education — the entire nation would be up in arms. Now imagine the villain in this scenario is a very unlikely institution, the Catholic Church and their Catholic schools. They are allowing their white communities to have an opportunity at a Catholic school education with neighborhood high schools while denying the same opportunity to Blacks and Hispanic students by closing all their inner-city Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford and leaving only one open in all of Connecticut. Both examples would be called discriminatory.

Over a short period of time, the approach was done largely by closing the feeder Catholic Middle Schools that were in proximity to the inner-city Catholic High School. This allowed for a self -fulfilling prophecy with the inner-city Catholic high school on a predictable course to have a declining enrollment. Then, we had COVID which hurt those in urban areas extremely hard. This is what occurred in Waterbury’s Sacred Heart High School, my alma mater. A school that gave me an opportunity to go to Yale University and become the first Black from an Ivy League undergraduate school to become a member of Congress.

The record is clear. With the exception of Kolbe Cathedral in Bridgeport’s Archdiocese all other Catholic High Schools would be in affluent white communities. They have a right to segregate themselves like the schools in the South did in the 20th Century which prompted the Brown vs Board of Education decision, but like Bob Jones University in the 1980s who also condoned discriminatory practices they cannot be allowed to receive federal funding, and in most states — state funding.

I am pleased the Waterbury chapter of the NAACP is seeking to halt this atrocity. They must use the judicial system to get justice. They must stop the government support for those who break Civil Rights laws and maybe even seek retribution.

The graduation rates at Catholic high schools in Connecticut are much higher than in most inner-city public schools. The prospects for college scholarships are much better from Catholic high schools, and the values that a Catholic high school education offers are superior as well in my opinion.

For example, Blacks and Hispanics make up a majority of all the abortions in America, I would think that number would be much lower for those who attend a Catholic high schools. The crime committed by inner-city students in public school is much higher than those students who attend a Catholic high school.

Yet, the Catholic high schools for inner-city children in Connecticut are on the verge of extinction, a memory and thing of the past, nearly ending school choice for high school inner-city kids.

The Sacred Heart High School Alumni and Community has done fundraising, has a plan to increase the number of students, and are developing a longterm solution.

The federal government’s COVID relief fund, U.S. Department of Education funding that can go to private Catholic Schools and the COVID Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds as well as other funds can help keep the school alive. More COVID relief is coming soon. Ironically, to keep schools (public and private) open.

I pray and trust that the white, Black, and Hispanic communities will rise and support fairness and a society with equal opportunity for all. If the Catholic Church is too powerful or if the will of the people is not there or simply apathetic, then we will all deserve what we get in the future. May God soften the hearts of the Catholic school administrators.

Gary A. Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England’s first Black member of the House. He is host of the podcast “We Speak Frankly.” @GaryFranks