51黑料

St. Roch in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood of 51黑料 and Little Flower in Richmond Heights do not have an adequate number of staff or students to operate in the fall, according to a press release.

There are 80 students attending Little Flower school this year, down from 138 four years ago. Only eight students had enrolled for the upcoming school year, and 11 staff members including the principal had planned to leave.

St. Roch has 130 students this year, and 74 enrolled for the 2024-2025 school year. The school presents 鈥渁n unsustainable financial investment for the foreseeable future鈥� with a projected shortfall of $500,000 this year, the release said.

鈥淲e are profoundly grateful to our principals, teachers, and staff of these two schools, all of whom share their gifts in our diocesan schools, and to parents raising their children in our Catholic faith, including those who have made a commitment to Catholic schools,鈥� the archdiocese said in a statement.

There are now about 19,000 students 鈥� down from 40,000 in 2000 鈥� in kindergarten through eighth grade across the archdiocese, which covers 51黑料 and 10 counties in eastern Missouri.

Pastors of the 30 smallest grade schools submitted three-year feasibility plans last month to the archdiocese as part of the 鈥淎ll Things New鈥� downsizing plan. The plans included goals for increasing enrollment and funding for the schools while still supporting other parish ministries.

Original blueprints called for nearly half of the 82 grade schools to close or merge. Enrollment across all schools has fallen below 65% capacity, straining the ability of parishes to subsidize an average operating deficit of $600,000 each year.

The school decisions were postponed until after Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski鈥檚 decision last May to close 34 parishes and merge 15 others. St. Roch was one of a few schools connected to closed parishes. A parishioner鈥檚 appeal to the Vatican to save St. Roch parish is still pending.

St. Roch parish was subsumed by Christ the King in University City, which also has a school of 180 students. It is not clear how many St. Roch students will be able to transfer to Christ the King.

Little Flower is the smallest parochial school in 51黑料 city or county. Under 鈥淎ll Things New,鈥� the Richmond Heights parish now shares a pastor with St. Mary Magdalen in Brentwood.

Parish leaders met with archdiocesan officials last fall to discuss their schools鈥� enrollment and demographic trends, finances and proximity to other parish schools. Pastors were given three choices: close the school, merge with another Catholic school, or stay open and produce a long-term plan to raise funds and attract more students. None of the pastors initially agreed to close their schools.

Catholic schools face the same headwinds as public and other private schools, mainly rising operating costs and a longstanding decline in birth rates. Three archdiocesan schools closed last year because of low enrollment: Good Shepherd in Hillsboro, St. Mark in south 51黑料 County and St. Rose in Florissant. Another two grade schools in the Diocese of Belleville will close this year 鈥� Notre Dame Academy in Belleville and St. Ann in Nashville.