St. Eugene's Cathedral School, an educational staple in Santa Rosa for the past 72 years, is slated to shut down in June. It is falling victim to financial instability amid plummeting enrollment numbers. Rev. Samuel Moses Brown laid bare the economic predicament in a statement addressed to the school community, explaining that the consumption of resources has accelerated, with no new reservoirs in sight to sustain operations, The Press Democrat reports.
According to Brown's letter, the school's current enrollment is a shell of its former capacity, up to 350 students, with fewer than 100 pupils and a meager 37 new applications for the coming year. This aggravates the already deep cuts in revenue, creating an economic impasse that, as Brown expressed, is neither logical nor sustainable. Meanwhile, St. Eugene's Cathedral bulletin shared a message from Brown, emphasizing the collective heartache accompanying this decision, a choice made after extensive consultation with church and educational authorities.
The closure of St. Eugene's adds it to the growing list of nine schools in Santa Rosa that have been compelled to close in the next two years. The common narrative amongst these institutions is financial strain paired with a diminishing student body. Outside the school gates, parents like Victor Gonzales, who sends his three children to St. Eugene's, are left grappling with uncertainty and frustration. Gonzales, as quoted by The Press Democrat, finds the information surrounding the closure "really confusing" and is troubled about where his children will be educated, per The Press Democrat.
Paul Casey, a teacher with three years of tenure at St. Eugene's, lamented the sharp decline in student numbers post-pandemic. He told The Press Democrat, "This school used to be a fully filled out school." The news of the impending closure was pushed onto staff with a mere three weeks' notice, catching educators off guard and underscoring the hardship of navigating such transitions with scant preparation time. June 4 marks the final day of classes, whereas the last eighth-grade class will move on from the school with their graduation scheduled for May 30.
