34 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 15, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
34 The Queens Courier • MARCH 15, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
THE QUEENS
editorial
sun
WWW.COURIERSUN.COM
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA
ART DIRECTOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
STAFF REPORTERS
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS
ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
CONTROLLER
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
KATRINA MEDOFF, RYAN KELLEY, ANGELA MATUA
SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
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Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Queens Courier
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FUN AT KISSENA PARK // PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @michaelchristoff erson
Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper!
To submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on Instagram, visit our Facebook page,
tweet @QNS or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
STORY: City urges Queens residents to ‘Wait’ before fl ushing toilets &
washing clothes during rain events
SUMMARY: The next time it rains, the city’s Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) wants Queens residents to wait
until it stops before doing the dishes, taking a shower or fl ushing a
toilet.
REACH: 14,885 people (as of 3/12/18)
Support both public &
private education now
For the third time this year, we’re reporting the closure of Catholic schools
in Queens — and those shutdowns should concern everyone.
Over the weekend, the Diocese of Brooklyn announced that Our Lady
of the Angelus Academy in Rego Park and Our Lady of Lourdes Academy
in Queens Village would be closing their doors at the end of June. Th is
announcement comes months aft er St. Pancras School in Glendale said it
would shut down, and Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy — which operates
two campuses in Douglaston and Bayside — would be consolidating into one.
Th ese closures continue to happen as the Diocese of Brooklyn and each
Catholic school community have worked hard to stay alive. Th e diocese has
closed or consolidated dozens since 2005, and instituted a system-wide reorganization
that shift ed power away from the clergy and toward lay people
committed to supporting Catholic education.
We’re not saying that the Diocese’s “Preserving the Faith” initiative, as the
reorganization is called, has been for naught. However, it is clear that it is
not enough.
Th e drop in enrollment and rising defi cits that forced these schools to close
makes it quite evident that parents are leaving Catholic education because
they simply can’t aff ord it in a city and state where the cost of living constantly
rises.
For years, the Diocese and Catholic education supporters have argued for
New York state to adopt a tuition tax credit program to help both the schools
and parents. Supporters of public education staunchly oppose it; they argue
that public schools aren’t funded enough (which is certainly true), and there’s
the question of whether the existence of such credits violate the separation of
church and state (a valid point, but one in which we won’t get into this editorial).
On face value alone, private schools of any or no denomination play just as
important a role as public schools — and both systems should be funded suffi
cient to the educational needs of New York state’s children.
If private schools continue to wither on the vine from a lack of resources,
they will slowly vanish — and those students will be sent to public schools.
Parents would lose their right to choose their child’s school. More public
schools will need to be built; more teachers will need to be hired; more
resources will be required; and the taxpayers will be responsible for it all.
Meanwhile, Catholic and other private schools already have the infrastructure,
educators and resources in place. Th ey just need extra funding, however,
to continue to serve students and upgrade facilities. Tax credits for parents
who send their children to private schools would stop the bleeding now
and fulfi ll their needs for years to come.
Th e state should do more to support both public and private education.
Both can be done; both should be done.
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua A. Schneps
Associate Publisher Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
VP, Events, Web & Social Media Amy Amato-Sanchez
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Katrina Medoff, Ryan Kelly, Angela Matua
Suzanne Monteverdi
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Assistant to Publisher Deborah Cusick
Classified Manager Celeste Alamin
Controller Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Courier Sun
All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation,
indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The
publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by
the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position
cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication.
VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes
all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its
employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the
publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
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