Students, parents rally at archdiocese in effort to save St. Hubert Catholic School from closure

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Sunday marked exactly one month since the parents, students, and teachers at St. Hubert in Hoffman Estates were told their school would close at the end of the year due to funding issues.

A dedicated group of parents and students attended 10:30 a.m. Mass before rallying others to their cause: trying to save their school from closure. They gathered outside Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday, calling on Cardinal Blase Cupich to meet with them in an effort to discuss new information they believe can save the school.

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"Faith and well-being are pillars of our community. And the archdiocese is taking steps to dismantle these things rather than holding them together," said St. Hubert alum and parent Michelle Flowers.

From Holy Name, the group marched to the archdiocese, where they disclosed their findings after hiring a forensic accountant to dig through the school's financial statements.

"There is plenty of money for us to continue as a school for the next five years without any changes. If we were able to make a modest 10% reduction in costs, we would be cash flow positive in two years," said St. Hubert parent Jillian Bernas-Garcia.

The archdiocese's decision, made due to low enrollment and high deficits, stings even more, parents say, because they were one year into a three-year plan to try and turn things around.

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"Our deficit was over half a million dollars when they brought it to our attention," said St. Hubert alum and parent Julie Chirinos. "We worked so hard to turn that around, that in the very next year, our deficit was only $140,000."

And while they are now appealing the decision through a process known as a Remonstratio, parents blame the archdiocese for a lack of transparency and poor management. Others whose schools have also been slated for closure feel similarly.

"They gave us six weeks, six weeks to raise $1 million," said Our Lady of Humility parent Laura Alvarez. "There was lack of leadership in regard to transparency."

A spokesperson with the Office of Catholic Schools at the archdiocese on Sunday said these decisions were made after months of discussions with St. Hubert and the other impacted schools, adding, "Many people have worked hard at each school to raise money and try to boost enrollment. We recognize and value those efforts but, in the end, the schools were not able to close the gaps, and they are no longer sustainable."

Parents say St. Hubert is the only Catholic elementary school within their school district, meaning if they do in fact close at the end of the current school year, some families may have to move or travel long distances to keep their children within the Catholic school system.