Facing declining enrollment and a mounting deficit, St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School in Palatine, Illinois, will close at the end of the school year.
The Daily Herald reports that the decision to close the school after more than six decades comes three years after the parish established a strategic plan that aimed to bolster enrollment and provide financial security.
“Despite solid fundraising efforts, enrollment declined 17% and the school’s projected deficit has doubled and is now insurmountable,” Pastor Kris Janczak said in a letter to parishioners.
St. Thomas will help its 145 students find another Catholic school, and teachers and staff will receive priority for open positions within the Archdiocese of Chicago, Janczak wrote.
The closure comes as many Catholic schools in Chicago's suburbs struggle with declining enrollment and the end of the state’s Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program. The program offered tax breaks to donors who helped low-income children attend private schools.
Among the schools that closed at the end of the 2024 school year were St. Bede in Ingleside, St. Zachary in Des Plaines, St. Matthew School in Glendale Heights and St. Odilo in Berwyn.
