At least six Catholic schools in the Chicago area are closing or are at risk for closing due to budget cuts, and there may be more to come. Enrollment is declining in suburban Cook and Lake counties, and the problem lies with the inability to fund these schools. The schools that are closing include St. Florian in Hegewisch, Academy of St. Benedict the African, Santa Maria del Popolo, and St. Bernadette’s. Schools that have been recently reprieved but were going to close include St. Christopher in Midlothian and Our Lady of Victory.

    The need to cut $10 million from the schools budget next year gives the archdiocese very little flexibility according to Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, superintendent of Chicago Catholic schools. “The problem,” she said, “is simply the continued inability to fund schools that parishes are unable to support.” The targeted schools were ones with low enrollment in areas where the students could easily find and go to another school. Parents of the students at the closing schools will receive $1,000 vouchers for other Catholic schools in order to urge them to continue pursuing Catholic education for their children.

    With all of these schools closing, it’s completely understandable that parents are upset. Some schools, such as Santa Maria del Popolo, have been around for upwards of 50 years. At some schools, parents are trying to rally together in order to keep the schools open. At Our Lady of Victory, parents raised more than $760,000 according to Mary Beth Frystak, a pastoral associate at the parish. “Right now everything looks positive and they want us to keep going,” she said. The archdiocese has given the school $1.2 million in grants, loans and other support over the past four years, including $400,000 in each of the last two years. The school was given a reprieve from the Archdiocese of Chicago. Another school that was given a reprieve from the Archdiocese is St. Christopher in Midlothian, IL. St. Christopher organized a pledge drive that raised $1.8 million over a five-year period, said the Rev. Kris Paluch, pastor of St. Christopher Catholic Church.

St. Florian also entered the appeals process, but did so later than the other schools. Seventh-grade Jennifer Dejanovich started a Facebook page to bring people together that support St. Florian. Dejanovich has attended St. Florian since kindergarten and wants to graduate eighth grade from the school she loves just like her older sisters. Heavily affected by the sadness of faculty and students alike in regards to the closing, Jennifer created the page “Save St. Florian,” where people that wish to help the school can post fundraiser ideas, coordinate, and donate.

With all of these Catholic schools closing, the Diocese of Gary may benefit from this. Students that wish to continue a Catholic education may do so in schools in Northwest Indiana. For example, students in Hegewisch and the on the east side of Chicago may go to schools like St. John the Baptist or St. Casimir.

However, Chicago Catholic school closings may affect the Diocese of Gary schools in a positive way.

“It’s possible that our feeder schools’ enrollment could increase, therefore, increasing our enrollment,” said Mrs. Nancy Repay, director of admissions. “Currently, there are 15 students from St. Florian that attend Bishop Noll. We have 10 students applying for admission from St. Florian.”

    The Archdiocese of Chicago will review all of the schools in their area again on March 1.