(LifeSiteNews) — The Archdiocese of Denver is closing a Catholic elementary school despite the fact that its parish is financially thriving, and despite its reportedly strong track record in forming children academically and spiritually.
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila on Oct. 3 announced the decision to close St. Louis Catholic School in Louisville, Colorado in a joint letter with Dr. Kemmery Hill, superintendent of Catholic Schools, and Dr. Scott Elmer, chief mission officer for the archdiocese, Denver Catholic reported. The letter cited declining enrollment and “financial strain,” without noting the fact that the Archdiocese owes the parish over two and a half million dollars.
“Despite tireless efforts to increase enrollment and stabilize finances, the student body has steadily declined to just 85 and has been under 100 for several years,” the letter to school families read.
“A Catholic school in our archdiocese requires at least 160 students to remain financially and programmatically viable. When we look at the criteria for making the difficult decision to close a school, we consider low and declining enrollment over several years, the corresponding financial strain on the parish, and the quality of education that risks declining with fewer resources.”
However, a financial analysis of the school shared with LifeSiteNews shows that not only is St. Louis Catholic School currently financially sustainable, but the combined parish-school entity “could continue indefinitely” at its current levels of financial surplus.
The parish and school together average an annual surplus of about $145,802, with a net income of +$110,339, +$231,630, and +$95,438, the last three fiscal years, respectively, according to the analysis. The combined entity carries only about $100,000 in debt.
Moreover, the school holds about $3 million in liquid assets, including approximately $2.67 million owed to the parish by the Archdiocese.
Thus, the parish has a “sustained ability to absorb school deficits without jeopardizing parish stability,” notes the analysis, which goes on to state, “At current resource levels, the school could operate 10 to 15 years on reserves alone, and the combined entity could continue indefinitely at present surplus levels.”
In addition, the school and parish have multiple ways to increase surpluses and lessen or eliminate the deficit of the school itself, including gradual tuition adjustments or increasing enrollment, expanding fundraising events, and securing grants for tuition assistance.
“There is no financial emergency at St. Louis Catholic Parish and School, and its financial position is exceptionally strong for an institution ordered to close,” the analysis concludes. “The closure decree is based on speculative concerns about potential future deficits and an enrollment of 85 students. Nothing in the financial record from 2022–2024 supports these assumptions or justifies an immediate closure.”
“On the contrary, the evidence supports returning a portion of the $2.67 million owed by the Archdiocese to St. Louis Parish and School, along with granting explicit permission to utilize part of its more than $3 million in liquid reserves to expand enrollment and strengthen its evangelization mission through Catholic education.”
Dr. Elmer acknowledged in a Thursday interview with CBS Colorado that there is no pressing need to close the school, but rather that the decision was based on anticipated financial need. “Do you want to wait until you have to close the school because your funds have run dry, or do you want to make a proactive decision to appropriate those funds for something else?
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and fraud examiner (CFE) Graham Lapp offered to LifeSiteNews a scathing analysis of the rationale behind the closure.
“In the past year, I have worked on several cases in which secular advisory firms persuaded bishops to sell parishes or schools that were otherwise sustainable. These firms essentially argued that the cash value of the land and buildings outweighed the evangelization taking place at these locations,” said Lapp.
Especially given the flimsy basis for the decision, the overwhelming response from parents and the local community to the announcement of the school’s closure has been one of grief, bewilderment, and anger. Over 100 people have written to the Archdiocese imploring it to reconsider what they believe would be a devastating closure.
At least 26 families have stated that they will take their students out of Catholic education if St. Louis School closes, and at least 50 families have committed to staying at the school if it remains open.
Dr. Kemmery Hill, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Denver, has also resigned after the decision to close the school. Sources have also indicated that her resignation was related to the planned closure, although this has not been confirmed.
A petition has been submitted in accordance with canon law to Archbishop Samuel Aquila imploring him to reverse his decision to close the school. Families have invoked the school’s quality of education, which motivates a few families to travel “great distances” to send their children there; the fact that its closure will force some families to send their children to public school; the stress of upheaval for families who have only recently returned to Louisville after it was devastated by the Marshall Fire; and the revenue support that the school provides for local businesses.
LifeSiteNews has viewed about a dozen letters from community members urging Archbishop Aquila to keep the school open. One letter from a teacher who used to work at St. Louis praised the school for its religious formation, noting that its students have an “above average understanding of their faith” and witness it in ways the teacher had not seen at other schools. “St. Louis is not checking boxes with its liturgical and faith formation opportunities,” the teacher wrote, but “having an impact on souls.” This teacher also highlighted the fact that St. Louis’ students have some of the highest STAR test scores in the archdiocese.
Another letter from the parents of a pre-K student at the school told how their daughter “blossomed” into a child who “loves learning and loves Jesus” under the tutelage of her teachers. “Her faith has been nurtured in a way that has strengthened our own,” wrote the parents. They expressed their heartbreak over the announced closure of the school, which they consider to be the “heart of the Catholic community in Eastern Boulder County” and a “vital beacon of evangelization.”
A teacher at St. Louis and parent of three students there raved that the school provides “top-notch” academics and serves as a bastion of truth and the Catholic faith “amid the enemy’s lies that are slowly suffocating Boulder County.”
“In contrast, our surrounding public schools are encouraging children to question their identities and their God-given genders,” wrote the teacher in a letter to Archbishop Aquila. “The evil around us here in Boulder County is palpable.”
“Shutting down St. Louis will be a brazen sign that the enemy is defeating the Catholic Church in Boulder County,” the teacher continued, going on to cite challenges the school community has recently faced, including the COVID lockdowns, the Marshall fire that devastated teacher and student homes, and the death of a teacher at the school. The teacher implored the bishop to save the school, seen by the community as “not a burden but a blessing.”
Amy Keuhlen, a mother of two young children at the school, told LifeSiteNews that when she first saw the letter announcing that the school would be closed, she cried.
“It was just shocking to everyone. Even the principal said she had no warning,” she said, explaining that no one associated with the school had received any indication that there were any financial concerns with its operations, and so no opportunities were presented for fundraising or any kind of remedy to such concerns.
“Enrollment has declined, but enrollment is declining everywhere,” pointed out Keuhlen. She lamented that the school was being treated as if it was “just a business entity.”
“The Archdiocese hasn’t been transparent about it,” she added. Keuhlen and others are further concerned that the closing of the school could cause a “huge exodus” from the parish, potentially eventually leading to its closure as well.
She is considering opening a Catholic school of her own in the vicinity, to prevent the dispersion of the community and maintain strong faith-based education there, which would also help preserve St. Louis parish.
“The number of people I’ve talked to who sit here feeling like they’re tearing their hair out because they don’t want any of the other options available,” said Keuhlen. “There’s a lot of interest” in the opening of a new school, “because this has left a bad taste in people’s mouths.”
LifeSiteNews contacted the Archdiocese of Denver for comment via phone and email but has not heard back as of the time of publication.
