SAN ANTONIO -- The Archdiocese of San Antonio has decided to close one of its Catholic Schools.
The decision comes six decades after the school first opened. Seeing the front of his old Catholic School brings joy for Mark Carrillo.
“I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I certainly have a lot of great memories of being at St. Margaret Mary. My friends and I got here in 1962 as five-year-olds. I played baseball on the ball field there,” said Carrillo.
His heart hurts knowing more kids won't be making memories of their own here. St. Margaret Mary's is officially closed due to a lack of enrollment.
“Friends talked about it on Facebook and I shared it with a picture of six-year-old me saying six year old me would not be smiling with missing teeth about this news. 60 years. It was a great run,” said Carrillo.
Only 53 students registered for the fall semester, which is a huge decline from the schools' glory days.
“The school originally opened in 1956 with over 700 students and by 1960 it was over 1000 students,” said Jordan McMorrough of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
A shift in population may have led to this closure.
“The San Antonio Independent School District closed a school very close to St. Margaret Mary a couple of years ago due to declining enrollment,” said McMorrough.
Keeping the school open, Archdiocese officials say, was not financially responsible. But while this school is now closed, the Archdiocese says demand for Catholic education in San Antonio is actually growing.
“In fact there are places in San Antonio and the Archdiocese where we really need to be opening Catholic Schools,” said McMorrough.
For now, former students are responding with thanks.
“I remember my mom working two jobs no car and she made sure in the '60s that me and my brother got a good education at St. Margaret Mary,” said Carrillo.
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