Loyola School Closing After 85 Years

DENVER (CBS4)- It's been a fixture in the community for decades, but soon a beloved Catholic school will close its doors.

The Loyola School is a K-7th grade school at 23rd and Gaylord near Denver's City Park.

The first classes were held in the basement of the church in 1924.

"I have friends that have had their kids, and their kids, and their kids... went to school here," said Isaac Hart.

"It's a very long history and it's a community history," said Linda Long, a grandmother of two Loyola students.

Long drives her two grandsons to Denver from Bennett everyday to attend Loyola Catholic School.

"We were kind of blindsided by we're shutting down. It's kind of like, why?" said Long.

Parents recently received a letter from the school with the announcement the school is closing at the end of the school year. It sparked an emotional reaction in some.

"I'm not a guy who gets emotional, but that got me," said Hart.

The superintendent for the Archdiocese of Denver said it was a number of things that contributed to the decision to close the school, including lack of money, building costs, low attendance. Those issues have been plaguing Loyola for 20 years.

"It's hard to have a school with 100 students and eight teachers in today's economy," said Archdiocese of Denver Superintendent Richard Thompson.

"It's a sad day that something like this has to happen to this school," said Hart.

Thompson said they are working to relocate Loyola's students and teachers to other Catholic schools. They'll even honor the tuition being paid at Loyola.

In the past decade, 1,600 Catholic schools across the nation have closed.