Share and Follow
CHICAGO (WLS) — Sunday marked a full month since the community at St. Hubert in Hoffman Estates learned of the impending school closure due to financial constraints.
A committed assembly of parents and students took part in the 10:30 a.m. Mass before rallying to gain support for their cause: preventing the school from shutting its doors. They assembled outside Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday, urging Cardinal Blase Cupich to engage with them, hoping to present new insights that could potentially save the institution.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
“Faith and well-being are the cornerstones of our community. The archdiocese seems to be dismantling these rather than strengthening them,” remarked Michelle Flowers, an alum and parent at St. Hubert.
Following their gathering at Holy Name, the group proceeded to the archdiocese offices, revealing findings from a forensic accountant they hired to scrutinize the school’s financial records.
“There is sufficient funding for the school to operate for the next five years without any adjustments. With a slight 10% cost reduction, we could be cash flow positive in two years,” stated Jillian Bernas-Garcia, a parent at St. Hubert.
The archdiocese’s decision, made due to low enrollment and high deficits, stings even more, parents say, because they were one year into a three-year plan to try and turn things around.
SEE ALSO | Hoffman Estates Catholic school in danger of closing, parents say
“Our deficit was over half a million dollars when they brought it to our attention,” said St. Hubert alum and parent Julie Chirinos. “We worked so hard to turn that around, that in the very next year, our deficit was only $140,000.”
And while they are now appealing the decision through a process known as a Remonstratio, parents blame the archdiocese for a lack of transparency and poor management. Others whose schools have also been slated for closure feel similarly.
“They gave us six weeks, six weeks to raise $1 million,” said Our Lady of Humility parent Laura Alvarez. “There was lack of leadership in regard to transparency.”
A spokesperson with the Office of Catholic Schools at the archdiocese on Sunday said these decisions were made after months of discussions with St. Hubert and the other impacted schools, adding, “Many people have worked hard at each school to raise money and try to boost enrollment. We recognize and value those efforts but, in the end, the schools were not able to close the gaps, and they are no longer sustainable.”
Parents say St. Hubert is the only Catholic elementary school within their school district, meaning if they do in fact close at the end of the current school year, some families may have to move or travel long distances to keep their children within the Catholic school system.
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.