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In an effort to save Catholic Schools facing closure around Queens, Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio are considering a pilot program that would convert some Catholic schools into charter schools. The measure would be open to converting other parochial and private schools.

“Many Catholic schools are finding it hard to stay open because of tighter budgets and falling enrollment, even as they remain attractive to so many families because of their focus on high academic standards and high student achievement,” Bloomberg said Saturday. “Many if not most of the students would be likely to seek admission in Brooklyn and Queens public schools that are already at or near capacity, which gives us all a shared interest in finding innovative ways to keep these school doors open.”

The plan would mimic a similar conversion successfully conducted in Washington D.C. last year.

The meeting follows the Diocese’s proposed closing or merger of 14 financially strapped schools in Brooklyn and Queens, announced Jan. 12. Four of the schools slated to close are in our borough.

Neither the Diocese nor the Mayor’s office returned requests for additional comment on the plan.

The Mayor and Bishop DiMarzio, who heads the Brooklyn-Queens Diocese, have set down ground rules for any conversion. Buildings would remain the property of their respective parishes. Current students would be guaranteed admission into the charter schools, with remaining students receiving admission via lottery.

But should the plan be implemented, it would radically change the nature and mission of all schools participating in the conversion, as no religious instruction would be allowed in the converted schools.

“Unequivocally, a charter school cannot be a faith-based school,” said Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Education Association.

All religious symbols and curriculum would be stripped from the school, and buildings would be used for secular purposes, despite many being attached to churches. The Department of Education already leases space in several converted Catholic schools in Queens.

“We’re very sad about this. In many situations, schools have been fighting to stay up and have been up against the wall financially,” Ristau said. “It’s the loss of a Catholic school.”

As the plan is in its preliminary stages, more specifics need to be ironed out.