A decision on the future of Drexel Catholic High School will be made about April 18, Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan said after the Archdiocesan Board of Education met with parents representing the school.

“I will mail a letter to each parent asking them to write me a letter before a final decision is made,” the archbishop said.

A delegation of six persons representing Drexel parents met Saturday with the Archdiocesan Board of Education, Archbishop Hallinan, Bishop Joseph L. Bernardin and Father Daniel J. O’Connor, secretary for Catholic Education and priest-secretary of the board. The delegation generally opposed the closing of the school, which had been announced for June and then deferred for further study.

“We were told that Drexel would be closed without consultation,” said E.C. McClintom delegation member, “We want it to remain open. We want it accredited. We want improvements in the faculty and facilities.

“We don’t feel that all of the ramifications were explored,” he continued. “The whole image of the Catholic Church is at stake. Negroes have been planned for, not planned with.” McClinton said the fact that St. Pius X High School is de facto segregated is not mentioned in the proposal to close Drexel and send the students to St. Joseph High School.

Sam McQuaid, board chairman, and the archbishop both said there should have been more consultation before the decision to close Drexel was announced.

In an extensive report on Catholic high school education, Father O’Connor said a meeting was held last February to consider the problem of Drexel’s small student population.

“Father (William) Hoffman (principal) urged that an all-out effort to integrate Drexel be made in order to increase its enrollment. He suggested that students from St. Anthony’s, St. Joseph’s in Marietta, and Holy Spirit parishes be made to enroll at Drexel,” Father O’Connor said.

“he suggested that unless the enrollment could be increased substantially, it would be better for the school to close, and its students attend other Catholic or public schools. The faculty expressed the same opinion.”

The school official said it was considered unfeasible to expect parents to send their children to an unaccredited school, and to force them to do so under the threat of denying them any Catholic education, was considered unreasonable.

Father O’Connor said the unification of Drexel and St. Joseph’s would create a minimum enrollment of 500 which is recommended by the Peabody Report. “The report states that no high school is large enough unless it graduates a senior class of 100 pupils.” He pointed out that Drexel was built to accommodate 300 pupils, which is below the recommended minimum of 500.

Father O’Connor listed the following reasons for consolidating—1) Drexel is too small a high school by any standard. 2) There is no great hope for its enrollment to grow over 300 in the next five years. 3) St. Joseph is too small, but could easily increase its enrollment to 500, if the children of St. Paul of the Cross went there. 4) The consolidation would provide better education for the children of both schools, while saving thousands of dollars in duplication of services and faculty each year. 5) The consolidated school would serve the archdiocese for the next five years, giving time to judge the course that Catholic education is taking and to calculate our next major more.

“Consolidation always causes sadness and some hurt feelings,” the priest said.

“The residue left from past mistakes and injustices will add its own particular bitter news. I do not believe we can afford to let this deter us from what I feel is the proper course of action. It is much more difficult to present facts than to stir emotions, but I believe that the facts are clear, and our course of action logical. And the facts will remain, while emotions will pass.”

Horace Bohannon, another representative of the parents asked, “Does integration always have to be black into white?” He said the image of Drexel in the community is good and it has “the potential to be as good a school as anywhere.”

Another delegate, George Coleman said, “St. Pius X was conceived by forces who had no intention of integrating.” W.C. McFarlin said Drexel was a challenge to the Church. “If it was a complete school we could get some of the pupils from nearby parishes.

Mrs. Jocelyn Peters said the chances of integrating St. Puis X were small because of a lack of space and because few Negroes live in the area of the school.

All of the spokesman said it was a mistake to have ever built Drexel since the Supreme Court ruled against segregation seven years earlier.

“Everyone has spoken of the mistake of starting Drexel,” the archbishop commented. “It is not a rule of life to build on mistakes, but to have the courage to build a new foundation.”

He pointed out that the cost of operating St. Joseph, Pius X. and Drexel this year was about $320,000. With pay increases for teachers and with Drexel open, the budget would be $482,000 next year.