NEW ORLEANS — Parents of students attending one Catholic school in New Orleans are fighting to keep it open after learning Friday the school was set to close. The Archdiocese of New Orleans announced three schools would close at the end of the school year because of decreased enrollment and financial concerns.
Families with students who attend Saint Rita Catholic School in the Carrollton neighborhood are meeting with Archdiocese officials Monday night to discuss the announcement.
"My husband and I have been parents here for 15 plus years. We have a history with St. Rita Catholic School. This is our family," Misty Frye said.
Two of Frye's four children are still students at St. Rita, but she learned through an email Friday afternoon the school is set to close at the end of the school year.
"I have a child that has cancer and when the whole faculty, the principal, and everybody found out, they did not leave my side. They were there, they were in the hospital room. Now to hear the news this school is closing, never to be reopened again... and then the way to receive the news with everybody else, it was so disheartening, it was so hurtful," Frye said.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans announced Friday St. Mary Magdalen in Metairie, St. Rita in New Orleans, and St. Rosalie in Harvey would close their doors at the end of the school year.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of St. Mary Magdalen, St. Rita in New Orleans, and St. Rosalie,” said Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. RaeNell Houston in a statement Friday. “These very difficult decisions were made after prayerful discernment and with the support of Archbishop Gregory Aymond, school leadership and pastors.”
Houston cited steady declines in enrollment and concerns about future financial stability as the driving factors in the closures. Each of the three schools currently has below 200 students enrolled.
“In justice and fairness to our children, we need to provide them a quality Catholic education with broad opportunities for spiritual, academic, and social formation,” Houston said. “When enrollment reaches a certain point, our ability to offer the programs that families expect and children deserve is compromised.”
"I just believe we should have been afforded the opportunity to know the school was in danger of closing so we as a family and as parents could say, 'hey how can we support the Archdiocese? How can we do fundraising? How can we do enrollment campaigns?' Just inform us. We were not informed," Frye said.
The three closures affect a total of 544 students and 68 faculty.
Frye isn't sure where her kids will be next school year.
"We don’t know. Its just another level of we don’t know," she said.
The Archdiocese said school information nights will be held to help families searching for a new school.