Six more parochial schools in Los Angeles area to close

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles plans to close six more schools, bringing the total to nine since last June.

The announcement reflects a pandemic-drive recession that has disproportionately hit low-income urban families. While interest in enrolling in private schools has surged among affluent families impatient with distance learning, urban parochial schools serving primarily Black and Latino blue-collar families have continued to struggle. In many cases, unemployed parents couldn’t afford annual tuition of about $4,000 to $6,000.

“This is a difficult and challenging time for our schools — schools that provide a service to our neediest children — and what you’re seeing here is a response to shifting demographics and declining enrollment that’s been happening for quite some time now,” L.A. Archdiocese schools Superintendent Paul Escala told the Los Angeles Times.

The archdiocese system, covering Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, enrolls 66,000 students in 262 schools. The six that will close were small, with 350 students and 50 staff members, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Escala said that 90% of the system’s elementary schools have been open fully or in hybrid and all 50 high schools will return on April 12.