St. Monica community making efforts to keep school open
CREVE COEUR, Mo. – The parents and children of St. Monica Catholic School organized a peaceful Rosary March in hopes that the St. Louis Archdiocese would not go through with the closure of their school.
“We were devastated, absolutely devastated. My husband and I cried for at least a week. St. Monica is our whole life,” Ashley Gebhard, parent and school board member, said.
Parents and school board members say they worked around the clock to keep the school up to standards and now it’s gone. It is said that the school is closing due to low enrollment numbers.
“Our enrollment was actually higher this year when they looked at it than what it normally is during this time of year,” Tiffany Estes, parent and school board member, said. “So, I really don’t think that was relevant. I honestly feel like it was a cop out just to close the school.”
Parents and board members of St. Monica Catholic School filed an appeal with the St. Louis Archdiocese in hopes of stopping the closure. Father Sebastian, Pastor of the St. Monica Parish, wrote a letter to the Saint Monica families on May 3, stating:
“The fact that we won’t have a school on our campus does not mean that we are not fully invested in Catholic education. As your pastor, I feel that is where our energy should go from this point forward. For that reason, I will not support any effort to appeal the closure of St. Monica School. I believe such a move would be counterproductive and distract us from the more important work of supporting our families and developing a vibrant parish.”
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“I was really saddened because, you know, like I said, I call this place home. And I see all my friends and I love all the teachers. They’re all supportive and if I need help, I know someone is always there for me,” Bella Lobo, St. Monica student, said.
Students are pleading for the school to remain open.
“There’s a lot of people here that wanna keep the school open. So, do anything you can do to save the school,” Luis Chavez, St. Monica student, said.
FOX 2 reached out to the St. Louis Archdiocese for comment, and they told us they would prefer not to comment on the situation and plan to wait for the appeal outcome for the school.
“At this point we stand at a crossroad. We can either move forward in a positive spirit and
focus on building a vibrant parish community, or we can allow anger to lead us further
into negativity. Just as I am aware of your pain, I’m also aware that in some circles there
have been angry and unjustified attacks on those who work for the Archdiocese. It is one
thing to disagree with a decision; it is another to engage in slander, name-calling and
abusive language. We are better than that. It is not who we are as a people committed to
the love of Christ. It is certainly not the community I have come to know and love,” a letter from Father Sebastian to the St. Monica community said.
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