St. Mary Help Of Christians Parish School To Close This Year

A local Catholic Elementary school will be closing its doors at the end of the school year. The question lingers however, just how long they will remain closed. According to a post on social media from the parish, the feeling is that "we cannot open the doors of our elementary school next fall. We are continuing to explore the possibility of keeping open a pre-school and summer care, though uncertainty exists on that front as well."

St. Mary Help of Christians to close elementary school

In a social media post that was shared Thursday afternoon, the St. Mary Help of Christians Parish made the unfortunate announcement that the school wouldn't be operating after the end of the school year.

Dear SMHOC Parish & School community,

In light of recent developments, which I have now reviewed and discussed with the SMHOC parish finance council, I believe that the Holy Spirit has made clear that we cannot open the doors of our elementary school next fall. We are continuing to explore the possibility of keeping open a pre-school and summer care, though uncertainty exists on that front as well.

I simply can’t in good conscience propose to recreate a school from scratch and commit to be its pastor, ultimate supervisor, and executive officer in light of the justifiable decision made by the majority of our staff to seek other employment after the incredibly stressful, uncertain, and unfair chapter of the last five weeks. In addition to staffing concerns, the initial presentation on May 13 of terms of separation between SMHOC parish and Catholic Community Schools revealed that the parish cannot seriously consider funding our school for another year until a financial agreement is reached and settled. I, personally, do not possess the professional background to offer even an estimate on what that timeframe may be.

The recent work of the community in rallying to support and save our school has been nothing short of amazing. I pray that the fires stirred by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of so many of you continue to grow even amidst sorrow. There are just too many new obstacles, costs and major uncertainties now added to what was already a seemingly impossible situation for me and parish leadership to move forward in good conscience.

Thank you for trusting our school with your children’s education and formation. Thank you for your patience and prayers during this difficult time.

Sincerest regrets but trusting in God and Mary, Our Help,

Fr. Erik Lundgren

Image Credit: St Mary Help of Christians Facebook

A difficult decision had to be made

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The announcement was made after an attempt by members of the parish and the community to come up with a viable plan to fund the school, however it seems from the announcement that was just too big of a task to find answers in such a short timeline.

Also, the school seemed to be facing a staffing shortage, as current teachers were looking at more stable work environments with so much uncertainty surrounding the catholic elementary school.

I did reach out to Catholic Community Schools in regards to the announcement, and will update this when I hear back.

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