St. Mary's parishioners upset over school's closing

At first glance, the children's prayer service Sunday at St. Mary's Catholic Parish in West Chicago seemed no different than in the past.

Area families looked on as youths delivered prayers and the church's assistant pastor, the Rev. Felipe Legaretta, led the service.

But when St. Mary's School principal Nancy Coughlin approached the lectern and choked back tears to begin reading a handwritten speech, the parishioners knew this was not a routine day. The service came just three days after the Diocese of Joliet announced the school would close in mid-July as part of a consolidation and financial savings plan. It is a plan, some parishioners say, that was changed at the last second after the church's pastor asked to transform the school into one for low-income Hispanics to serve the area's growing population.

Parishioners say the Diocese's original plan kept the school open as long as it reinvented itself and promoted further diversity.

"I am deeply saddened and hurt by the decision process used by the Diocese," Coughlin said during her speech. "The school makes a difference in our families. It's not just financial. It's personal, it's emotional, it's spiritual."

In November, the Diocese of Joliet concluded a yearlong study that found St. Mary's lacking enough diversity for the area. As officials prepared a response, the Rev. John Balluff, the church's head pastor, prepared a separate, unilateral response that rejected the diocese's recommendation of increasing diversity. Instead, he offered an alternative that included a smaller school focused on Hispanics and those living in poverty.

He did so without consulting school board members, and board President Mike Bullock said that is one reason parishioners are angry with Balluff. He said on Nov. 24, the school was told it would be a strategic site for the diocese's future plans.

"At some time, they changed their mind and never communicated with us," Bullock said. "We asked but we never got any dialogue. And Father John was not available to comment."

In a letter sent to Bishop Peter Sartain and obtained by the Daily Herald, Balluff said he had not "nor do I intend to discuss my proposal with the current St. Mary's School Board."

Balluff, who started at the church in July, also said that closing the school would "give me the opportunity to assemble a group of knowledgeable laity that are drawn to the mission, not assigned a mission."

Balluff could not be reached for comment.

On Sunday, around 80 children from the school performed with the choir as parents looked on. As they exited, some said the closeness of the school makes the situation even more difficult.

"They're breaking up a family and it's horrible," said Cindy Hernandez, whose eight-year-old daughter Gianna attends St. Mary's. "It's a sad day." She said she was not sure where she would send Gianna next year.

Bullock said the whole ordeal shows a flaw in the system governing the closures.

"There's definitely a disconnect and no interest in connecting," he said. "I certainly didn't expect that from a Christian organization that's supposed to be all about people."