Archdiocese has 'no plan' to reopen 6 Catholic schools after families push to keep them open

Parents and community members continued their fight Sunday to keep St. Hubert Catholic School in Hoffman Estates open a month after learning it was set to close at the end of the school year.

About two dozen parents, students and staff appealed to Cardinal Blase Cupich by demonstrating in front of Holy Name Cathedral after attending Mass there Sunday morning. They then marched several blocks to the archdiocese office in the Gold Coast.

“When the schools are in trouble, the archdiocese is silent,” said Angel Garcia, whose child attends the school, at a news conference. “This falls on Cardinal Cupich.”

Hours later, the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools said the decision was made “with heavy hearts after months of discussions” but maintained that enrollment was too low and deficits too high.

"There are no plans to revisit those decisions," a spokesperson with the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools told the Sun-Times. “Many people have worked hard at each school to raise money and try to boost enrollment. We recognize and value those efforts but, in the end, the schools were not able to close the gaps, and they are no longer sustainable.”

Michelle Flowers, a mother of four students who went to the school and is herself an alumna, said it was “deeply troubling” and hoped the archdiocese would reconsider the move.

“This is the first we’ve heard from them,” Flowers said of the archdiocese's statement to the Sun-Times. “They have not given us any meaningful opportunity to communicate with them. … Catholic schools are not meant to operate as balance sheets. If the archdiocese isn’t even willing to come to the table, that represents an abandonment of a mission.”

In January, the archdiocese announced its intention to close the 65-year-old St. Hubert at the end of this school year. It was among six area Catholic grade schools — ncluding four in the city of Chicago — the archdiocese decided to close, citing declining enrollment and ongoing financial losses.

The other suburban school is Our Lady of Humility in Beach Park, and the four Chicago schools are:

• St. Bruno and St. Richard, 5025 S. Kenneth Ave. in Archer Heights
• St. Jerome, 2801 S. Princeton Ave. in Armour Square
• St. Francis Borgia, 3535 N. Panama Ave. in Dunning
• St. Stanislaus Kostka, 1255 N. Noble St. in West Town

The six schools slated for closure had declining enrollment over the last decade, although their enrollment has been relatively stable in the last five years, according to filings with the Illinois State Board of Education. St. Hubert and Our Lady of Humility had a little more than 200 students for the 2024-2025 school year, and the rest of the schools fell below 200 students.

Parents from St. Hubert began a formal process to challenge the closure at the end of January, just days after they were informed the school would shutter later this year. The 30-day window for a response closes in early March, and if they still have yet to hear from Cupich, they say they will appeal to the Vatican.

Parents at the school had begun to rally to save it, operating under the name the Save St. Hubert Coalition and commissioning an independent financial analysis, which they said found the school can operate in its current state for five more years, or be “cash-flow positive” in two years with a 10% reduction in spending — such as by cutting two full-time positions and making the gym teacher part time. The report found staffing costs were the biggest driver of overhead.

They blame tuition increases and the elimination of tuition discounts, which allowed students to attend even if they could pay half of the $8,000 annual cost of attending the school, which the group said prevented nearly 50 students from enrolling at the school last year. They also allege $500,000 was taken out of a fund dedicated to infrastructure at the school to pay off parish debts.

Jillian Bernas Garcia, a parent of two children at the school, said when she and others reached out to parents at the other closing schools, they saw a pattern of lack of transparency. She called for “true cooperation between the hierarchy and faithful” and said the group wants a dialogue on how to keep the school open.

“This should definitely not have resulted in the decision to close the school,” Bernas Garcia said. “The deficit was set at this high, insurmountable goal. I think it discourages people from supporting the school, and I think that was done intentionally.”

The Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools wouldn’t answer questions about the allegations made by parents.

A GoFundMe to help fund efforts to save the school has already raised more than $20,000 of its $500,000 goal — the deficit number diocese leaders gave as the reason why the school must close.

The closure would force parents to choose between public schools and the next nearest comparable Catholic schools in neighboring suburbs like Roselle or Arlington Heights, Bernas Garcia said.

Contributing: David Struett