Parents at a north suburban Catholic school feel blindsided by an announcement that it’s closing in two weeks.
Still reeling from the news, students and parents gathered outside St. Alphonsus Liguori in Prospect Heights, holding homemade signs and chanting "Save our school" before class Monday morning.
Fourth grader Stefan Sabat shared his frustration over the closure of the school that has been around since 1958, saying he doesn’t understand how the administration could betray students.
Parents say they were given assurances as recently as May 9th that the school would remain open and shared with WBBM an email from the principal.
In it, Jack Shepard wrote “I have heard from various parents that they are hearing that St. Alphonsus is closing, this couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Ivelisse Gomez says she and other parents want to be able to do what they did a decade ago amid similar challenges - fundraise and recruit more students - but she says the administration seems to have made up its mind.
In a statement, the Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools says it admires the community’s interest in fundraising but a sharp decline in enrollment this year and another projected for next year make the school’s deficit unsustainable.