Bang the Drum Slowly, What is Next for OLOL????

It will 26 years next month since I graduated from Lourdes Regional High School in Shamokin, PA. As a proud member of the Class of '84, 139 graduates walked down the aisle of the gymnatorium on Clinton Avenue.

In the fall of 1980 when I entered my freshman year, roughly about 550 students were in grades 9 through 12. When I graduated, there was a trailing class that already had under 100 students.

In today's News-Item, this story doesn't paint a colorful pictures. The big numbers in the story are enrollment figures coupled with tuition increases. The projected enrollment of grades 7 through 12 are 170 students while pre-K through 6 will have 200. With an average tuition increase of $300 to $2000 for elementary and $3700 for high school plus a fundraising goal or donation, how many more will leave?

According to officials, it cost $6000 a year per student while only $3500 is collected in tuition. Even with cost saving measures, one thing Lourdes Regional hasn't seen or the area for that matter has seen has been rising population and a growing economy. While the short term fix is finding money, the long term fix is finding students.

Maybe the answer would be going the other way. Luzerne CC in Shamokin seems to be thriving, why not a Catholic Junior College? It could be an avenue worth exploring.