CHICAGO (March 15, 2004) – Our decision to recommend that the school not reopen in the fall was the result of a thorough and thoughtful review of the current situation and the prospects of the school’s viability for the future.

A committee, under the leadership of the president of the Our Lady of Ransom parish school board and with representation from the school board and the parish at large, conducted a viability study under the direction of the Office of Catholic Schools. A total of nine meetings were held during this process to provide information about the status of the school and to gather input from local leaders and constituents regarding the viability of the school.

The study was the conducted in response to a continuous and significant decline in enrollment of our elementary school over the past several years. Our current enrollment is 209 students, Kindergarten through eighth grade.

Results of the study documented that declining enrollment prompted the need to raise tuition in order to support the educational program. Each year, as the school board has established increases in our tuition, parents have withdrawn their children from the school because they are no longer able to afford the tuition. Compounding the situation is the fact that the parish, which has been able to provide significant financial help for the school over the years, is now no longer able to either increase or maintain the current amount of subsidy to the school.
It was with deep regret and pain that we made this recommendation to Francis Cardinal

George, O.M.I. Our Lady of Ransom has served in this area since 1961 and has provided excellent education and Catholic formation to many young people in our community.

Leaders of the school are committed to delivering a high quality program through the end of the current academic year. They are working diligently with the families of current students to assist them in making a transition to a new school in the fall and to help those families explore options for enrollment in other area Catholic schools. The parish, in collaboration with school leaders and the Office of Catholic Schools, is prepared to extend financial assistance to families who choose to send their children to another Catholic school in the area.