107-Year Legacy: This Historic School In RivCo Could Close For Good

RIVERSIDE, CA — A historic Catholic school in Riverside County is closing, one older than any public school in the county.

Citing low enrollment and rising costs, The Press-Enterprise reported that St. Francis de Sales Catholic School will close in June after 107 years.

On Monday, April 14, a letter was sent to families, parents and guardians to announce a decision to close down. Among the reasons they listed were changing demographics.

“For more than a century, St. Francis de Sales School has stood as a beacon of faith, learning and community,” Rev. Alvaro Palacios Arregui, pastor of St. Francis Catholic Church, which is part of the Diocese of San Bernardino, wrote in the letter. “Generations of students have been nurtured here in both mind and spirit."

But some in the community, like David Suarez, are fighting to save the school, which was founded in 1918 by the Dominican Sisters of Houston, the newspaper reported.

“Let us fight for our school,” Suarez, one of several parents leading the effort, told the newspaper. “If we fail, we fail, but don’t close the doors without giving us that opportunity.”

Read more from The Press-Enterprise: Riverside’s St. Francis de Sales Catholic School set to close