CLEVELAND — St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School in Cleveland will close its doors after more than 120 years, according to the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.
Opened in 1899, St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School, located in the 9100 block of Superior Avenue, will close after the current academic year.
The school is diocesan-owned and not supported by a parish community, being maintained by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland since 1993 when the St. Thomas Aquinas parish closed.
According to the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, the school is closing due to a “serious shortfall in operating revenue” due to several factors including rising costs and declining enrollment.
The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland said they are disappointed the school has to close.
“While there is a true sense of sadness at the closing of St. Thomas Aquinas School, a school that prepared students to be life-long learners and instilled in them the importance of striving for excellence, its continued operation became unsustainable due to a range of factors also affecting other area public and private school systems,” the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland said.
St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary had its highest enrollment in 1945 when the school housed 1,050 students.
