AUBURN — Bishop Richard Malone is scheduled to meet with parents and teachers at Lewiston-Auburn’s Catholic schools next week in meetings that could kick off big changes.

Malone has scheduled back-to-back meetings on Monday, Feb. 8, at St. Dominic Regional High School. He’ll meet with school teachers and staff at 6:30 p.m. and with parents and the public at 7 p.m.

“The meeting will lay out the bishop’s direction for Catholic education,” said Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. The diocese oversees Maine’s Catholic churches.

Malone’s decision follows about six months of examination of Lewiston-Auburn’s Catholic schools: Trinity Catholic School, located on two campuses — Main Street and Baird Avenue in Lewiston — and St. Dominic’s in Auburn.

Wisconsin-based Meitler Consultants, which specializes in studying parochial schools, interviewed local clergy, teachers, administrators and parents. It formed focus groups and wrote a report that Malone received in late December.

Monsignor Marc Caron, who took part in the discussions, said they considered many possibilities, including the concept of closing Trinity’s Main Street campus, where the junior high is located, and moving students to St. Dominic’s.

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“It was very collaborative,” Caron said of the process. The final decision on what happens will rest with Malone, however.

About four years ago, the diocese initiated a large-scale consolidation of its K-8 population in Lewiston.

During that consolidation, St. Peter’s/Sacred Heart School was closed, Holy Cross School became Trinity’s elementary school campus and St. Joseph’s School became the junior high campus.

Leaders cited shrinking enrollment as the reason for the change.

dhartill@sunjournal.com


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