Pittsburgh Diocese: St. Raphael School in Morningside will not reopen
Share this post:
Saint Raphael School in Pittsburgh’s Morningside neighborhood will not reopen for the 2019-2020 school year, officials with the Diocese of Pittsburgh said Saturday.
The board of Pittsburgh East Regional Catholic Elementary Schools voted Friday night to recommend the school’s closure for the coming school year, board president the Rev. Kris D. Stubna wrote in a letter to parents.
Bishop David Zubik accepted the recommendation, he said.
Stubna cited low enrollment — just 39 confirmed registrations for the K-8 school this fall — as the main driver.
“Unfortunately, with only 39 students confirmed registered … a quality Catholic education is not possible,” he wrote. “All classes have fewer than 10 students, including two students in each fourth and seventh grade, three students each in sixth and eighth grade and four students in second grade.”
The school will offer Saint Raphael students $1,000 to put toward tuition at any other Catholic elementary school for the coming school year, Stubna wrote. The money will come, in part, from remaining funds that were raised to keep the school open for the 2018-2019 school year.
Those funds will be available to students were attended the school during the 2018-2019 or who were registered for the coming school year by Aug. 2.
The School Advisory Council, made up of parishioners, teachers, parents and clergy, in June requested extra time to boost enrollment, according to the letter. The school in July had 68 unconfirmed student registrations; after phone calls to families to verify registrations, it fell to 47, and the number of actual registrations came in at 39.
“We realize how difficult this closure is for many of you, who have such a deep love for Saint Raphael School,” Stubna wrote, assuring parents that “places are available for all of your students.”