Front Page - St. Elizabeth Seton School to close - St. Elizabeth Seton School to close

Photo by Donna Seline.

In mid-March Catholic Archbishop Nienstedt announced that two Catholic schools in the Archdiocese would not open their doors in September - one of them is St. Elizabeth Seton School, which has served the parishes and Northside for the past 14 years. According to Father Anthony, the school's governing board had been trying to do what it could to promote the school, boost enrollment and invite corporate sponsors and donations. They implemented a three-year plan to set the school on what they hoped would be a bright course for the future, and thanks to the dedication of President Mona Faulkner and Principal Karen Meskill they were able to continue to move forward.

    Anthony says, "More than anything, what forced the closure of the school is the dire economic climate that has affected the families who have children in the school, the parishes that subsidize the school and the Archdiocese. Extensive funding that had been promised by the Archdiocese had to be cut back because of their own financial situation."      On March 4 the Board of Directors was asked to consider the feasibility of the school over the long haul. A week later, after reflecting on all the possibilities and realities, the board made the difficult recommendation to close the school. The school was facing a budget shortfall of $300,000 beginning June 2009, and they had no idea where the money could come from without the help of the Archdiocese. And even if by some miracle they were able to raise that revenue for next year, they would be faced with a bigger deficit in the following years. "In fairness to the faculty and staff who will be faced with finding new jobs and the parishes who have already made enormous sacrifices to keep the school going, we believed that closure was the only option," notes Anthony.

    Anthony says, "When St. Elizabeth Seton School closes its doors in June, it will end an over 100 year tradition of Catholic education on the Northside...While we lament the absence of a Catholic school on the Northside of Minneapolis, the parishes that came together to create St. Elizabeth Seton School continue to commit ourselves to being a vibrant and welcoming sign of the Reign of God in the midst of the communities we serve."