St. Clair Shores Catholic school announces closure despite $500,000 raised by community

FOX 2 (WJBK) - In the midst of Holy Week, a Catholic School community in St. Clair Shores is hurting.

"The betrayal that we feel now - I don’t believe they ever intended for us to stay open," said parent Lindsey Connolly.

St. Germaine School was set to close at the end of this academic school year, due to financial reasons.

But parents and students told the school and the Archdiocese of Detroit that they would do what it takes to keep school doors open.

"They gave us the benchmarks to meet, (and) we met them, we exceeded them," said Connolly.

"We raised $530,000 and they said we needed to raise $300,000," said parent Eric Field. "We have 150 kids registered. Never in the history of this school have we had a 150 kids registered this early in the year."

But despite the success, the parents couldn’t believe what happened.

"They told us from the very beginning if we hit these three black and white benchmarks, they would keep us open," Field said. "And that was a lie."

Instead, St. Germaine will be closing at the end of the academic school year.

FOX 2 reached out to the Archdiocese of Detroit and we were sent a statement which says the closing was based on, "Concerns about long-term operational viability and the ability to provide adequate spiritual care."

"It’s heartbreaking, I don’t know how to explain it to my children," said Connolly. "I don’t even know how to rationalize it myself."

Parents say St Germaine is their home away from home and the news is devastating.

"The staff, the families, it is truly a family here," she said.

The Archdiocese of Detroit released a response to questions about the benchmarks which were met.

"When this process was first approved, it was shared with the school community that the approval represented an openness to explore the possibility, not a guarantee," it said in the statement.

Parents says what’s also challenging is telling kids that promises are not always kept.

Sot 7 there is no way to explain to (my kids) where they understand," Connolly said. "Even as adults it's hard for me to understand."