Parents of Blessed Sacrament School are intensifying their efforts to keep the school open. With legal action already underway, the group continues to push for answers and transparency.

William Grenaway, a parent of two children attending Blessed Sacrament, addressed his concerns about the potential struggles for the school’s diverse student body if the school were to close. “The biggest thing is because our school has the highest number of diverse students out of all six schools. I mean, we’re pretty big, stable, and that community,” he said.

In response, the Erie Catholic School System (ECSS) released a fact sheet outlining the reasons behind the closure. It stated, “Over the past several years, Blessed Sacrament’s enrollment dropped by 52%, and the school has had the lowest retention rates in the system for four out of the last five years.”

The ECSS added that, “The school’s financial position was unsustainable. Based on these data points, the Erie Catholic Board of Directors moved to close Blessed Sacrament School, bringing the recommendation forward to the Board of Members and Bishop Lawrence Persico, who accepted the recommendation.”

However, parents like Grenaway, feel that they were not given enough time or information to prepare. "The numbers they claim about enrollment—they claim it’s down—if we’d known this originally, we would’ve had an opportunity to prepare, come up with a plan, and fight, like we’re doing now,” she said.

If the issue is a funding problem, Ana Aponte another parent, believes there are many willing to donate or sponsor the school. “If it was a funding problem, I know that there’s so many people that are willing to fund, sponsor, or donate money. So, if that was the issue, I don’t think we would be in this boat,” she said.

Now, some parents are seeking an alternative solution to keep the school open. They are asking Bishop Lawrence Thomas Persico to sign over Blessed Sacrament so it can become a parish school, separate from the Erie Catholic School System.

Ana Aponte emphasized that enrolling students from the Catholic school system's waiting lists could help solve some of the school’s challenges. “They are going to place our children first before they place any other kids that are on the waiting list for these other schools. So, if there’s a problem with space or kids being on a waiting list, I’m not quite sure they wouldn’t just come over to Blessed Sacrament and fill up our school,” she added.