Our Lady of Victory School to close at the end of 2020-21 academic year

Citing years of declining enrollment exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and a deficit approaching half a million dollars, leaders of Our Lady of Victory School in Arbutus announced April 16 that the Catholic elementary school will close at the end of the current school year.

Our Lady of Victory, which currently enrolls 172, becomes the third Catholic educational institution in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to announce its closure this year, with St. Pius X Montessori Catholic School in Rodgers Forge and St. Jane Frances de Chantal Pre-School in Pasadena also planning to make this their last year of operation.

In a letter to parents, James Sellinger, chancellor of Catholic schools; Bob Weisengoff, Our Lady of Victory school board president; and Ryan Hellem, Our Lady of Victory principal, said the decision was reached “after considerable prayer, thought and discussion.” They noted that enrollment has dropped 33 percent “over the past several years,” making the school unable to meet the operational expenses and the “growing education resource needs” of students.

“In addition, the school will have a deficit of $450,000 this year, despite financial support from the parish, donors and archdiocese,” the leaders said. “The daily operating costs and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic have made the sustainability of our school impossible without going further into substantial debt and jeopardizing our ability to provide the quality Catholic education that our parents expect and our students deserve.”

The leaders acknowledged that the news was sad and “upsetting.”

“Our Lady of Victory School has changed the lives of countless students since its founding in 1957 and will always hold a special place in our hearts,” they said.

The letter noted that representatives from the archdiocese will contact parents in the near future to answer questions and provide support. The Department of Catholic Schools will host a parent information meeting April 19 via Zoom.

Parents were provided a guide to neighboring Catholic schools. A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore said administrators from St. Agnes School in Catonsville, St. Mark School in Catonsville, Sacred Heart in Glyndon and Mother Mary Lange Catholic School, a new school in Baltimore opening for the next academic year, will join the videoconference. They will provide parents additional information and assist with placing children in Catholic schools for the 2021-22 school year.

An April 16 statement from the Archdiocese of Baltimore said the decision was not an easy one and came after “considerable discussion and extensive evaluation of the sustainability of the school.”

“We pray that the transition for these students and families is a smooth one and are working closely with them on placement in our other Catholic schools,” the statement said. “We also pray for the dedicated staff at Our Lady of Victory and thank them for their years of dedication to our students and community.”

Our Lady of Victory School is a culturally diverse community that includes families from throughout the Southwest Baltimore area.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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