St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, one of Riverside’s oldest schools, is set to close in June after 107 years because of low enrollment and rising costs.
But parents are rallying to raise money in hopes of keeping their beloved school open.
“Let us fight for our school,” said David Suarez, the parent of a second grader and one of several parents leading the campaign. “If we fail, we fail, but don’t close the doors without giving us that opportunity.”
Founded in 1918 by the Dominican Sisters of Houston, the downtown Riverside school is among the city’s longest-standing Catholic schools, according to its website. It also appears to be older than any Riverside public school still operating in its original facility.
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Parents Claire Thornton, Debbie Thornton and Michael Gomez converse outside St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Riverside on Friday, April 25, 2025. Families are campaigning to keep the school open after the announcement that it will close after 107 years of educating students. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Parents Claire Thornton, Debbie Thornton and Michael Gomez converse outside St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Riverside on Friday, April 25, 2025. Families are campaigning to keep the school open after the announcement that it will close after 107 years of educating students. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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In a Monday, April 14, letter to families, parents were alerted of the decision made for reasons including low enrollment, rising costs, financial challenges and changing demographics.
“For more than a century, St. Francis de Sales School has stood as a beacon of faith, learning and community,” stated the letter announcing the closure from the Rev. Alvaro Palacios Arregui, pastor of St. Francis Catholic Church, which is part of the Diocese of San Bernardino.
“Generations of students have been nurtured here in both mind and spirit,” Palacios Arregui wrote in a letter that called the move a “profoundly difficult decision.”
Palacios Arregui could not be reached for comment.
“The school hasn’t been financially self-sustaining for a long time,” said John Andrews, spokesperson for the Diocese of San Bernardino, which oversees Catholic churches and 30 schools in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. “We’ve poured significant resources into trying to keep it open, but the enrollment just isn’t where it needs to be.”
The school has about 97 students, down from 120 last year and 126 in 2021. It serves students from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade. Tuition costs about $5,500 per year, Andrews said.
The school, which is adjacent to St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church off Lime Street, would need to either double its enrollment or double tuition to stay open, Andrews said.
Andrews said he had no information on the changing demographics cited in the pastor’s letter.
“Closing a Catholic school is the last thing we want to do,” Andrews said. “That’s why we’re working with families now to help them understand the financial picture and offer options.”
The last time the diocese closed a Catholic school was 2019, when Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Montclair shut due to financial challenges, Andrews said.
Principals from other Riverside Catholic schools, including St. Thomas the Apostle and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, attended an April meeting at St. Francis to speak with families about transferring.
Open houses also were offered, and some families have begun registering at new campuses, Andrews said.
Many parents say the closure news came as a shock.
“We weren’t given the full financial picture until after the announcement,” Suarez said.
The parents have launched a GoFundMe page, applied for grants and used social media to raise awareness.
Families hope to raise $100,000 to keep the school open another year and have raised $775 as of Wednesday morning, April 30.
Some have begun exploring other Catholic schools, but space is limited.
“The majority of us went to try to enroll in local Catholic schools, and they were all essentially too full to take us,” Suarez said.
Jesse Alcaraz, a Fontana resident and parent of a first grader, said his son had started to thrive at St. Francis after a difficult experience at another school before kindergarten, where the structure didn’t suit him.
“He’s made so much progress in smaller classes,” Alcaraz said. “This place finally felt right. Now we have to break his heart and tell him it’s ending.”
Alcaraz said his family has looked into transferring him to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School, but are concerned about larger class sizes.
“He’s going into second grade, and some of those classrooms have 30 to 35 kids,” he said. “That’s a big change from what he’s used to.”
Parents also said they’re worried about the challenges their kids will face starting over in an unfamiliar place.
“You always think about, ‘Is he going to fit in?’” Alcaraz added. “He feels safe. He has his friends here. Now it’s a whole other world he has to adjust to — and that’s really hard.”
Parents are also concerned about underprivileged students.
Julian Valle, a parent with multiple children at the school, said the decision gave families little time to act to save their school.
“There’s all kinds of kids here, from all kinds of backgrounds,” Valle said. “Some parents can’t pay more, but at least let us try. We weren’t even given that chance.”
Fran Crumbaker, a piano teacher who works with students across Riverside including some from St. Francis, said the closure could affect lower-income families.
“This is a school that serves the working class,” she said. “The closure would come at a great cost to the community.”
While some consider switching their children to other Catholic schools, many are still hoping St. Francis will stay open.
“We’re not just trying to save a building, we’re trying to save a home,” Suarez said.
Andrews, the diocese spokesperson, said officials “understand how deeply loved this school is.”
He added: “This isn’t just about numbers — it’s about a community, and we’re doing everything we can to walk alongside them during this time.”
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