Our Lady Of Mercy Closing: 33 Workers Face Layoffs

HICKSVILLE, NY — More than 30 workers face layoffs as a Hicksville Catholic school plans to shutter its doors. As Patch previously reported, Our Lady of Mercy School on South Oyster Bay Road will permanently shut down at the end of the 2019-20 school year. The school, which serves students from nursery through eighth grade, has been running for more than 55 years.

A WARN notice on the state Department of Labor's website posted this week showed 33 workers will be affected by the closure. A layoff and closing date was set for June 19. The reason for the layoffs was listed as economic. Employees are not represented by a union.

Sean Dolan, a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, previously said the school faced declining enrollment and tuition dollars, making its goal of developing students "academically, emotionally and spiritually, unsustainable."

From the 2012-13 school year to the 2019-20 school year, the school saw enrollment fall 72 percent from 368 students to 104 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Over the same period, Our Lady of Mercy also saw enrollment fall 61 percent from 469 students to 181 students in nursery through eighth grade.

Income from tuition and fundraising dropped as enrollment fell, and the amount of parish and diocesan contributions ballooned, officials said. From the 2012-13 school year through the 2018-19 school year, the parish provided a total of $2.36 million in operating support and the Diocese of Rockville Centre provided almost $500,000 in additional core contribution.

SEE ALSO:

• 2 Long Island Catholic Schools To Close In 2019
• Our Lady of Lourdes School Is Closing: Diocese
• Holy Angels Regional Spared From Catholic School Closings
• Our Lady of Peace Reacts to Catholic School Closings