Catholic school in Antioch to close
A Catholic grade school in Antioch will shut down because of declining enrollment, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Tuesday.
St. Peter School is among three Chicago-area schools set to be shuttered at the end of the 2015-16 term.
Also on the list are St. Agatha Catholic Academy in Chicago and Seton Academy in South Holland.
Not on the list of schools to be closed was St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic School in Prospect Heights.
The archdiocese had a $300,000 fundraising goal for St. Alphonsus to deal with an anticipated budget shortfall. School officials on Monday announced they'd hit the goal, with pledges totaling more than $332,000.
The school's fate is still unclear, however.
"The Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools is in active discussions with St. Alphonsus Liguori parish and school leaders. No decisions regarding the future of St. Alphonsus Liguori School have been made to date," archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said. "We will share more information as soon as it is available."
St. Peter serves preschoolers through eighth-graders. The school has experienced declining enrollment and isn't self-sustainable, according to a news release from the archdiocese.
"Currently, the operating deficit is large and enrollment is severely low, after dropping significantly this academic year," the release said.
The pastor at St. Peter, the Rev. Michael McMahon, recommended the school be closed, according to the archdiocese.
Neither McMahon nor the school principal could be reached for comment.
According to its news release, the archdiocese will work with parents of students at the three schools to find alternative opportunities for Catholic education.