ST. LOUIS — St. Mary’s High School has agreed to the terms of a three-year lease with the Archdiocese of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, which had planned to close the Catholic boys’ school next year.
A press conference is set for Thursday at St. Mary’s to announce the deal, which includes a new name and religious sponsor for the school in the Dutchtown neighborhood.
In September, the Archdiocese of ºüÀêÊÓƵ announced it would close St. Mary’s and Rosati-Kain high schools at the end of the school year as part of the downsizing plan for Catholic parishes and schools. The archdiocese also operates Bishop DuBourg and Cardinal Ritter co-ed Catholic high schools in the city.
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School leaders and alumni vowed to stay open independent of the archdiocese by raising donations and recruiting new students. Mike England, president of St. Mary’s, said the school has raised more than $3 million toward future operations.
“I’m excited that the community responded in a way that demonstrates how much we value St. Mary’s as a partner,†said Nate Lindsey, president of Dutchtown Main Streets, a nonprofit that advocates for economic development. “We’re a microcosm for the city as a whole, folks working together to improve despite decades of disinvestment.â€
Tuition is $11,000 at the all-boys school on 27 acres on south Grand Boulevard, where 90% of students receive financial aid. Enrollment dropped to 222 students this fall, down nearly 20% from last year and 31% over the last decade.
The school is one of the most integrated in the region. About 40% of students are Black and 15% are Hispanic and most students live within 5 miles of the campus.
“I think that St. Mary’s, very much like Dutchtown today, is a testament to racial reconciliation in ºüÀêÊÓƵ,†Lindsey said.
The Marianists will become St. Mary’s sponsor, which involves a spiritual but not financial relationship that is required to be considered a Catholic school by the archdiocese. The religious order also sponsors Vianney and Chaminade high schools in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
St. Mary’s has a long relationship with the Marianists. Two years after the school opened in 1931 as South Side Catholic High School, the Marianists took over operations with 10 priests teaching 275 students. Enrollment grew to a peak of 1,100 students in 1946 and the name was changed to St. Mary’s a year later.
Supporters of the proposed Rosati-Kain Academy independent Catholic girls’ school are still in negotiations with the archdiocese to lease their property in the Central West End.
The two ºüÀêÊÓƵ high schools were the first casualties of the archdiocese’s “All Things New†reorganization plan, which is expected to lead to the closure of dozens of parishes and schools after plans are announced on Pentecost Sunday in May.
St. Mary’s represents the first public victory for opponents of the reorganization. Parishes that are slated for closure including St. Gianna in Wentzville are preparing appeals that could go to the Vatican.
After the archdiocese announced it would close St. Mary’s, a group of alumni formed the Southside Education Collaborative for the school to stay open as “an anchor in the Dutchtown neighborhood continuing its efforts to transform the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ through education, service, and community building,†reads the group’s .
The collaborative is led by former Mayor Francis Slay; Gregory Divis Jr., CEO of Avadel Pharmaceuticals; and Brian Daniels, president of Becker Contracting.