By Marie Mulvenna

With the severity of the energy crisis now a hard and cold fact, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta have already lowered their thermostats but are also taking a long and concerned look at how that particular crisis may seriously affect education in general and their schools in particular. Possible adverse consequences to the energy situation might be a four-day school week and longer day, extension of present vacation or even of the school year itself.

Father Daniel O’Connor, secretary for education for the Department of Catholic Education, said that the archdiocesan board of education did not see any immediate need for a change in the school calendar, vacations, or normal operations. Schools in Atlanta, Father said, do not rely on oil as their heating source and thus may be saved the drastic steps being considered elsewhere in the country. “The heating situation is not at the emergency stage right now because our schools use natural gas.”

“Our biggest concern,” Father said, “is that so many of our parents are required to drive long distances to get their children to our schools.” There is no comprehensive fleet of buses provided students in any of the local parochial school systems nor do Atlanta schools rely on buses operated by the public school systems.

“If we find that the driving of the students is severely hampered by either rationing of gas or the possible stiff rise in price of gasoline, then we would have to consider steps to help the parents,” Father said.

Father O’Connor said the archdiocesan board of education had dealt in depth with the effect of the energy crisis on Catholic schools and had recommended that all parish boards of education consider the matter at their December meetings, reporting their findings to the archdiocesan board. The board also recommended that the Department of Education and all principals of schools set up a program of education to examine the energy crisis and its effect on future life in America.

“Right now,” Father said, “all thermostats have been lowered in the schools and close care is being paid to conserving fuel by watching doors and windows and their use or abuse.”

Serious alternatives that might possibly face parochial schools should the crisis worsen would include a four-day week with extended hours for the school day. “This would save the driving parent one day of gas to get his child to and from school but it would also be a great hardship on the primary grade student by forcing a longer day on him.” Father O’Connor noted that if the four-day week and extended day became a reality “we might have to plan for nap time for the younger student.”

Another possible alternative is extending the school year longer into the month of June than is already scheduled. This, according to Father O’Connor, presents problems of summer heat and the fact that few, if any, parochial schools in the archdiocese have central air conditioning systems.

“All the alternatives have an adverse effect, educationally,” said Father. “If we extend the Christmas vacation, as some have already suggested, we will need a few weeks to get the children back where they were educationally before the vacation began.”

Extending the length of the school year also poses problems with summer educational plans for teachers as well as for institutions of higher learning who sponsor and have already scheduled such summer courses, institutes and workshops.

“Every one of these changes presents a bad educational consequence,” Father O’Connor noted. “We’re reluctant to start changing calendars, rescheduling, or revamping the entire program until we really know for sure that such action is imperative.”

“Right now,” he said, “we don’t foresee any drastic action but we have to be prepared should it become necessary in the future.” He added, “As far as heating of the buildings goes, we’re in good shape for the present but we can’t be sure what the months ahead will bring.”

The local parish education boards are to report their findings to Father O’Connor’s office and the matter will then be scrutinized by the archdiocesan board of education for their action on the crisis.