Beloved local Catholic school set to close after 110 years

BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - A beloved Catholic school in Brawley is set to close after 110 years.

In the city of Brawley, Sacred Heart Catholic School has been on the corner of J Street and South Imperial Avenue for over a decade.

“My grandmother came here when the school first opened. She used to ride her pony to school. We have five generations of our family that attended Sacred Heart School," shared Douglas Dahm, Sacred Heart Catholic School alumnus.

“We used to play jacks, for the girls, you know that is what we did. We used to play a lot of jacks and jump rope you know old fashion games," said Jane Otter, Sacred Heart Catholic School alumnus.

“We had a little league for a while and that result was a bunch of championships for the Sacred Heart," said Dennis Dahm, Sacred Heart Catholic School alumnus.

Last week, parents received a letter that Sacred Heart Catholic School is closing its doors at the end of the school year. 

“Every year is a struggle. Every year is like we might not make it next year but then we do. And so I felt that way. Well it’s like every other time. So I took it with a grain of salt and play we have a meeting on Monday and we will figure it out.”  

But unfortunately, that meeting will not have the resolution many are seeking as the bishop and the superintendent explained the school situation.

According to Father Bernardo Lara, the school started struggling around 2019 with low enrollment and was running out of money, the COVID-19 loans helped the school to stay open. 

This year without those loans it's become difficult to make ends meet. 

“So now that we don’t have that… We felt the problem of low enrollment and low income and of course even harder to the point where it made it impossible to stay open for next year," said Father Bernardo Lara, Sacred Heart Catholic School.

The school currently has 47 students in attendance compared to more than 70 last year.  

The school first opened in 1914 with children attending kindergarten through eighth grade.