St. Peter Catholic School will close at the end of the school year on May 25, Father Anil Thomas announced Friday.
Thomas made the announcement in the gymnasium of St. Peter Catholic School before an audience that included Vernell Bowen, the superintendent of the Catholic Schools of Arkansas as well as school staff and members of the public.
“It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that St. Peter Catholic School will close after this school year,” Thomas said as he read from a letter that he sent to the parents of the 58 pre-kindergarten through fourth-grade students that presently attend the school.
Thomas said a low pre-registration enrollment for the fall coupled with a lack of funds made the decision to close the school necessary.
Bowen also made a statement.
“It is always difficult for a Catholic school to close but it is especially so for this one, which opened in 1889 as the first black Catholic school,” Bowen said. “Catholic schools depend upon enrollment and the tuition that is paid.”
Thomas said that as of Tuesday only 37 students had registered for fall 2012, which is below the number needed to make the school financially viable.