The pastor of St. Thomas of Villanova parish in Palatine dangled a possible lifeline to supporters of the parish’s Catholic school, which the Archdiocese of Chicago agreed to close at the end of the school year.
A member of the finance committee confirmed the Rev. Kris Janczak, the parish pastor, will ask the archdiocese to approve a fundraising project to extend the life of the school.
During a Monday forum at the church, several community members offered to step up and raise funds. One of them, Palatine resident Karen Flasch, said $120,000 was already pledged to the school.
Nearly 200 parishioners attended to demand answers regarding the events leading up to the closure.
They were upset a handful of members from the parish finance committee made the decision to close without consulting the community or the school board.
“What everyone was upset about is that, rather than saying, ‘Look, we’re in a really bad situation, and we need money, and we have to raise money right now,’ they just decided to close it. They were not given a chance,” Flasch said.
“Process is important in arriving at a decision so consequential. The process that they followed did not include the school board, nor did it include the parish as a whole, which is a massive failure,” said Arlington Heights resident Jack Kenesey.
Kenesey, who has been involved with the parish for more than 45 years, donated tens of thousands of dollars toward the building of the annex to the school. Less than two years ago, his children donated $50,000 on the occasion of his 80th birthday for the Kenesey Learning Lab. But now, he and his wife are looking for a new parish, he said
Finance committee members shared the financial challenges facing the school, which is confronting a projected operating deficit of $800,000, with cash reserves on the brink of declining to $200,000 by the end of the school year.
They outlined a combination of missteps and mischances. Among them were the loss of 30 students who had enrolled this year and a $300,000 bookkeeping error by the prior finance manager, who left in 2024. The launch of all-day kindergarten in Palatine Township Elementary District 15 also cut into enrollment.
School board member Sean Kopeny said there have been challenges with enrollment, but blamed a lack of financial oversight by parish officials for the school’s woes. Kopeny and others are calling for an independent audit.
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