Photo: Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy - Facebook
(East Moline, IL) -- East Moline's Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy will be closing its doors.
A news release from The Diocese of Peoria Wednesday, says the closure will help families move to nearby Seton Catholic School Moline and Jordan Catholic School in Rock Island.
The Diocese first announced plans to close in April 2022 after the 2021-2022 school year, but reversed its decision just days later after they say there was an uproar from parents and parishioners.
They then developed a timeline hoping to increase enrollment to at least 135 students by the 2024-2025 school year, but ended up only having 102 students enrolled this school year.
Over the last four years enrollment has dropped from 158 students to 102.
In addition to declining enrollment, the Diocese says other factors contributing to the closure include the cost of maintaining the school's four aging buildings, administrative turnover, teacher shortages, and the loss of the State of Illinois' Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
They plan to close at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.