Schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta will hold their first day of classes Monday, Aug. 28, and will operate at peak enrollment despite a tuition increase, Father Daniel J. O’Connor, secretary for education, said.

St. Joseph’s in Athens, will not begin classes on Aug. 28, Father O’Connor said the school will open one week later to coincide with the opening of public schools in Clarke County and will close a week later. Marist will open Aug. 28 and D’Youville, will open on Aug. 29. Both are private schools.

Father O’Connor said, “Almost all schools in the archdiocese have raised their tuition since last year. Despite this, they will operate at peak capacity.” He said exact enrollment figures will not be available until later.

“Tuition was raised to provide better salaries for teachers,” the school official said. “The two archdiocesan high schools raised tuition to $200 a year for the first child.” Father O’Connor said the increase was necessary to close the pay gap between parochial and public school teachers. He said there is still a $1,200 difference in salaries for first-year teachers.

This year’s education budget of $534,000 will be the largest in history, Father O’Connor reported. “The total education budget includes schools, the new Office of Religious Education, Newman work and the Department of Catholic Education.

“This year we will put a great deal of money into Newman work, which is included in the education budget of the first time. In the past it was paid for by other funds. We will spend $10,000 this year on Our Lady’s Day School for exceptional children instead of $1,000.”

Since last year, two schools in the archdiocese have been closed. Drexel High School, which had 156 Negro pupils, has been leased to the City of Atlanta for use as a 550-pupil elementary school.

Father O’Connor said that most of the pupils who attended Drexel will attend St. Joseph and St. Pius X high schools.

He said discussions are under way with Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta to rent three rooms for Our lady’s Day School.

‘Eighty of the Drexel pupils will attend St. Joseph and 40 will go to St. Pius,” the priest said. “This is the first year that the student body at St. Pius will be integrated.” Father O’Connor added that the faculty at the school has been integrated for several years.

The superintendent said most of the pupils at Immaculate Conception grade school which was closed and sold under the Georgia Plaza development plan have been accepted at other grade schools.

Father O’Connor said his annual report of the past school year showed that 8,395 pupils attended Catholic schools last year, 108 more than the previous year.

“This increase is opposed to the national trend which saw a 5.6 percent decrease through out the country,” he commented.

The enrollment by grades last year in catechetical work was pre-school, 399; first, 546; second, 515; third, 469; fourth, 413; fifth, 348; sixth, 431; seventh, 271; eighth, 267; ninth, 282; tenth, 253; eleventh, 215; twelfth, 177.

The school enrollment by grades was kindergarten, 419; first, 868; second, 812; third, 816; fourth, 799; fifth, 754; sixth, 763; seventh, 735; eighth, 657; ninth, 510; tenth, 462; eleventh, 408; twelfth, 373.