St. Patrick School in Janesville will close at the end of school year

St. Patrick School in Janesville will be closing at the end of the current school year, it was announced at Masses on the weekend of January 27 and 28.

Currently, the school has an enrollment of 11 students in grades kindergarten through eight, in addition to 11 students in the public partnership 4K program.

This enrollment, a continued projected decline, and the fact that the operational cost of the school is over $200,000 per year led both the parish pastoral council and finance council to recommend the school’s closure to Pastor Fr. Tim Renz.

Father Renz contacted Bishop Robert C. Morlino notifying him of the recommendations being made by his parish councils. In a statement, the Diocese of Madison said that there has been ongoing conversation among the four Catholic parishes in Janesville about their schools “and the diocese anticipates the results of that collaboration with optimism.”

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The other three Janesville parishes with schools are St. John Vianney, Nativity of Mary, and St. William.
full article at MadCatHerald

In an age where consolidation is everything, it is refreshing to see a town still trying to keep independent parish schools open.  It's a great way to keep families engaged and regularly attending church.  If a parish can make a school work, good for them.  But it sounds like the Janesville parishes are looking to consolidate at some point.

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