Religious organizations backing Carbon County’s last Catholic school have asked the Allentown Diocese to see if it can survive another year.

In a letter to parents, pastors from the three parishes sponsoring St. John Neumann Regional School in Palmerton — Sacred Heart, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas — said keeping the academy open could harm the churches that support it.

As a result, parish leaders have requested a feasibility study from the Allentown Diocese. The study will determine if the school can reopen for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Reverends William Campion, of Sacred Heart, Eric Arnout, of Assumption, and Adam Sedar, of St. Nicholas, all signed the correspondence.

The religious leaders cite declining enrollment at the school and diminishing attendance at each church as part of the “serious challenges regarding the financial operation and future of our school.”

“All three of our parishes are struggling to pay their school subsidy, diocesan assessment and parish bills with the ordinary income from the parish,” the letter, dated March 5, reads. “All three are operating either in deficit spending or near deficit spending.”

There are 65 students, ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade, between the school’s Palmerton and Slatington campuses — 12 less than they had in October 2018.

The supporting churches, the letter points out, have also seen a drop in infant baptisms, and 60% of St. John’s students are members of either Sacred Heart, Assumption or St. Nicholas.

Kelly Erickson’s daughter, Olivia Erickson, 15, previously attended St. John’s, and her 12-year-old, Delaney Erickson, is a seventh grader there. Kelly is also president of the St. John Neumann Regional Home and School Association.

Erickson said she was “upset and angry” at the letter, and the prospect of St. John’s closing.

“It’s taking away an entire educational opportunity for residents of Carbon County,” Kelly said.

“There will be no more Catholic schools in Carbon County if St. John Neumann closes, so parents in the community don’t even have an opportunity to send their kids to a different form of education if they chose to do it.”

“It’s very upsetting,” she added, “not even just as a Catholic, just as a member of the community. That something like that’s being taken away — it’s horrible.”

Matt Kerr, spokesman for the diocese, said the verdict on whether or not to close St. John Neumann has not officially been made. “There is no decision at this time,” he said.

Kerr said the study will look at the “parishes’ abilities to continue supporting the school at the level they are now and what options might be to close that gap, if possible.” The study will be conducted by the Allentown Diocese Office of Education.

“We understand the love the parents and the students have for the school,” Kerr said.

The study’s outcomes will be shared at the end of March, according to the letter. If the decision to close St. John’s is made, Kerr said it wouldn’t happen before the current school year’s end.

Mary Comensky, St. John Neumann principal, said she could not comment on the matter.

Reverends Campion, Arnout and Sedar could not be reached in time for publication.

According to the National Catholic Educational Association’s 2018-2019 U.S. Catholic elementary and secondary schools report, there are about 6,200 Catholic schools in the country. In the 1960s, that number sat closer to 13,000.

Locally, St. Joseph Regional Academy in Jim Thorpe closed its doors in 2018. Lansford’s Our Lady of the Angels went defunct in 2016. Two years prior, SS. Peter and Paul in Lehighton shut down.