INGLESIDE, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Despite a successful fundraising effort, a northwest suburban Catholic school will not reopen next fall.
St. Bede School in Ingleside launched a major fundraising campaign and was successful in generating $500,000, according to a GoFundMe page started by an alumna of the school.
However, the Archdiocese of Chicago said the other half of the equation was not successful. St. Bede was not able to increase projected enrollment enough for the next school year, so this academic year is its last.
Pastor George Koeune said that as of this week, 119 students had signed up for the next school year, but the target for staying open was 182 students, which is what the current enrollment is.
The archdiocese blames the reduced enrollment on uncertainty from the loss of the Invest in Kids Scholarship program.
Greg Richmond, superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said: "About 15% of students at St. Bede have been receiving a state Invest in Kids scholarship. The legislature’s decision to end that program was a blow to those schoolchildren and a contributing factor to the fate of St. Bede.”
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