Private schools consider consolidation

COLONIE - Parents and students voiced concerns at an open forum Wednesday night, about a proposal to merge Christian Brothers Academy and La Salle Institute.
"If I'm seeing my revenue decline, I get up and I do something about it! I get up and I find those students!" said CBA parent Tom McCormick.
Many of the parents have generations of students at the two schools, which have been around for 150 years. But because of declining enrollment, school leaders said they may have no choice but to team up.
"We were at a high about seven years ago of 650 kids and right now we're at about 430 boys. So, when you multiply that drop by about $8000 per student, it's a pretty substantial impact on your budget," said La Salle Board of Trustees Chairman David Slackrow.
Those numbers were laid out for the audience, as well as pros and cons of moving to each school. CBA is a newer facility but would need a bigger expansion to accommodate all students. Troy-based La Salle has a bigger campus with an older facility.
But for students we talked to, the rivalry of the schools was hard to overcome.
"i'm going to be negative here, if we were to merge to two schools, those schools would Iose their identity, " said La Salle senior David Masterson.
"We are the CBA Brothers. They are the La Salle cadets. We're the Brothers. They're the Cadets. And if you mix them, they're still gonna be them. We're still gonna be us," said CBA freshman Matt Burton.
School officials, graduates of the institutions themselves, said they know this could be an emotional move. But said they feel forced to consider it.
"If we didn't have to be talking about this right now, we'd probably prefer to remain competitive with each other," said Slackrow.
Trustees also said they wouldn't rule out the option of going co-ed.
They hope to make a decision on consolidation this Fall.

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