St. Alphonsus working to keep Prospect Hts. school open
After talks with the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic School officials have increased their fundraising goal in hopes of keeping its doors open for the 2016-17 school year, the parish's pastor said in a letter Saturday.
The Rev. Curt Lambert announced $400,000 now needs to be raised in cash by 5 p.m. Feb. 8, according to the letter posted on the parish's website. That money is expected to cover operating costs for the next school year only.
In addition, the Prospect Heights school must secure a "committed" enrollment of 135 students by the Feb. 8 deadline, Lambert wrote. St. Alphonsus currently has an enrollment of 159 students.
The new fundraising target comes after school supporters exceeded an initial fundraising goal, collecting about $332,000 over Christmas break.
Faced with a looming budget shortfall due to declining enrollment, parish and school administrators learned that St. Alphonsus could close at the end of the current academic year unless $300,000 in pledges were raised by Jan. 4.
"In closer consideration of the finances and enrollment trends and in careful discernment with our colleagues from the Office of Catholic Schools (OCS), we agree that we need to adjust these terms," Lambert wrote in the letter. "We cannot leave parents (new or existing) and faculty in limbo regarding the future of the school through March 31st.
"If we are to take up this challenge, then the decision must be made earlier and be made knowing that we have the financial and enrollment wherewithal to commit a full school year to faculty and students."
An Archdiocese of Chicago spokeswoman released a statement Saturday night, saying Lambert met with parishioners this weekend and that St. Alphonsus will hold another meeting Thursday night.
Lambert gave an overview of the school's finances, enrollment and "updated requirements developed by parish leadership in coordination with the Office of Catholic Schools, to enable the school to continue next year," the statement read.
Lambert did not immediately return a message seeking comment Saturday night.
"As a next step," the statement read, St. Alphonsus will hold a meeting 7 p.m. Thursday in the church to address questions from parishioners and provide an update on the pledge drive and enrollment.
Archdiocese officials haven't announced a final decision, but have said they are working with the parish to develop a plan under which the school could continue operating next year.
"Given the experiences of other Parishes/schools in similar situations and given that we will be exhausting all of our reserves to finance the school for another year, Archdiocese leadership and the Office for Catholic Schools are very concerned about the viability of this plan and overall parish viability if we move forward with this plan," Lambert cautioned in the letter.