Parochial education is taking another hit in Northwest Indiana with the closing of a long-time elementary school.
Chicago Public Radio’s Michael Puente reports.
Indiana Harbor Catholic School in East Chicago is closing its doors after seven decades.
With declining enrollment and mounting debt, mostly due to parents not being able to afford tuition, school officials decided it could not stay open for another year.
Adeline Torres heads the school board.
TORRES: It was a heartbreaking decision that’s come through months of trying to get it back on its feet. And, we just couldn’t do it.
East Chicago was once home to seven Catholic schools.
With the closing of Indiana Harbor Catholic School, it now just has one. Torres said the school decided to close now to give parents time to enroll children in other schools.
The school’s final day of classes came earlier this month. It will host a farewell Mass on July 28th .
I’m Michael Puente. Chicago Public Radio.