In the face of continually declining enrollment, St. Luke Parish School, 18000 W. Greenfield Ave.,
Fewer than 70 students were enrolled for the 2009-10 school year, down from 239 seven years ago. Currently, 114 students attend the 4-year-old kindergarten through eighth-grade school. St. Luke School employs 16 staff and faculty.
Augustine said the area's "complexion" has changed since the school opened in 1960 - fewer young children now live here.
"We look back and we see that the pattern started a long time ago," he said of the enrollment slide. "... There's a break-off point where there's no longer a good educational experience for the child, and it's no longer possible for the parish to subsidize it."
Attempts to increase student numbers proved fruitless.
"Despite the heroic efforts of parents for recruitment and retention, increase in enrollment was minimal," Augustine said.
Parents are upset, he said.
"Naturally our parents are disappointed and angry, but we really didn't have a choice."
Parish council members voted March 24 to close the school, a decision approved by church officials March 25. School parents were told in writing on March 26 and the closing was announced during mass March 29.
Augustine stressed that St. Luke Parish, opened in 1956, is not closing. About 1,000 households attend the church.
Augustine said the parish is not recommending a particular school to its families, but church officials hope parents will continue to choose a Catholic education for their children. The parish may even provide some type of subsidy or scholarship to encourage Catholic school attendance.
Other area Catholic schools enroll several hundred students each.
St. Dominic in Brookfield enrolls 456 students in its 3-year-old kindergarten through eighth-grade programs. St. John Vianney in Brookfield has around 500 students enrolled in K4 through eighth-grade. St. Mary's Visitation in Elm Grove has a K4 through eighth-grade student body of around 326.
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