Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The president of the board of education for St. Patrick Catholic School says the board tried every thing it could think of to determine if the school could continue to operate.  But in the end, it’s not meant to be.  However, that doesn’t mean the 116-year-old school will completely be going away.

Erik Woehrmann, president of the St. Patrick Catholic School Board of Education, speaks to reporters about the school's pending closure.
Erik Woehrmann, president of the St. Patrick Catholic School Board of Education, speaks to reporters about the school’s pending closure. (Will Stevenson)

“We have done through budget analyses.  We have contracted with national firms that specialize in this kind of work, to raise money for Catholic schools and Catholic education,” said Erik Woehrmann, school board president, at a Thursday afternoon news conference.  “At the end of the day, the board ultimately made the decision that we cannot maintain the school in a responsible manner.”

Woehrmann says the immediate focus will be on helping 52 students and 15 staff transition out of the school.  While St. Pat’s was somewhat independently operated, it was open under bylaws approved by the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, and with some diocesan resources, and in a building near 19th and South Grand Ave. East owned by the Diocese.  Plans for the building after it closes are not yet clear.

But, what is clear is that the school’s Kindergarten through Fifth Grade students will be provided with scholarships to help get them education elsewhere.

“The 501(c)3 (non-profit status) will remain active,” said Woehrmann.  “There’s going to have to be a lot of work that goes into transitioning that from a brick-and-mortar school to one that is scholarship-based.  But, the intent of the scholarship organization is to provide, at first here, to take care of our immediate students leaving this school and who want to further their education in a Catholic school.”

Woehrmann says that means, long-term, continuing to have annual fundraisers like their “Blarney Bash.”  This year’s, however, is being postponed until a date to be announced.  The scholarship program, he says, has not yet been worked out.

St. Patrick’s has operated since 1910, but has only operated in the last 25 years as a somewhat independently-run entity.