Local Charity Offers Millions To Avoid Catholic School Closures
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A local charity is offering millions of dollars to the Archdiocese of Chicago, in an effort to prevent more Catholic schools from closing in the future.
CBS 2's Susanna Song reports five Chicago area Catholic schools – St. Gregory's High School, St. Helena's Of the Cross Elementary, and St. Paul Elementary in Chicago; St. Bernadine Elementary in Forest Park; and St. Kieran in Chicago Heights – are being closed as part of budget-cutting at the Archdiocese.
The Big Shoulders Fund has been providing support to some of those schools, and has announced it will invest millions of dollars more into Catholic schools in Chicago to avoid school closures in the future.
The move won't save the five schools already slated to close at the end of the school year.
The charity already provides $12 million to $14 million a year to 93 inner-city Catholic schools. This year, it gave $6 million in scholarships to students in pre-school to high school.
The Big Shoulders Fund is working with the Archdiocese on a three-year plan to make sure enrollment grows at Catholic schools in underserved communities.
The dollar amount and specifics of the agreement will be finalized in the next few weeks.
