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EAST LIVERPOOL – To many, it seemed like an April Fool’s Day joke gone bad, but an April 1 letter sent to parents of St. Aloysius students was dead serious: After 130 years of educating students, the school is closing.
The letter from Pastor Peter Haladej said after much consideration and discussion with the school community and diocesan officials, it was decided the school is no longer a viable option.
According to Haladej, enrollment has been declining every year, the school’s financial stability has been a “great challenge to face,” and fundraising efforts have not met goals.
The Youngstown Diocese also announced the closing in a press release Wednesday, noting that between 2012-2015 enrollment has dropped nearly 50 percent, with just 49 students currently enrolled at the school, which serves grades K-8.
Haladej offered St. Paul’s in Salem, which houses grades K-6, as an option to those parents who want their children to continue in Catholic school.
Also being pursued, he said, is a charter school which has been under discussion since the fall of last year between himself, several members of the community and a group of professional educators with “extensive charter school experience.”
This group of educators is applying to the Ohio Department of Education for permission to open a charter school for the start of next year.
Haladej explained this will be a public school with no religious affiliation or connection to any church but, he noted, for those parents concerned about their children’s religious education, the St. Al’s facility or Christian Catholic formation, “We can reassure you that these particular items have been taken into consideration in creating opportunities that will supplement the education of children who enroll in the newly formed charter school.”
Once the charter school application has been approved, a public meeting will be held to explain its operation advantages, he said.
St. Aloysius has been educating children since 1885. The St. Aloysius Parish merged in June 2011 with Immaculate Conception in Wellsville to form Holy Trinity.