Citing financial constraints in part caused by its massive settlement with victims of the priest sex-abuse scandal, the Los Angeles Archdiocese is closing Daniel Murphy Catholic High School, a boys academy in the Fairfax District.
The school, built in the 1950s on the site of a former seminary, has been losing enrollment for more than a decade, said archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg. He said it was too soon to speculate about what might replace the school at the 2 1/2 -acre site.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 38 words Type of Material: Correction
Murphy High: An article in Tuesday's California section about the closing of Daniel Murphy Catholic High School by the Los Angeles Archdiocese said the Queen of Angels school had closed last year. It was shut down in 2002.
The closure was the second blow to the venerable campus, which was rocked last year when the former dean of students pleaded not guilty to numerous counts of child molestation.
Still, parents and students were stunned by the decision, and praised the school as highly disciplined and culturally diverse.
"It's very sad to see it shut down," said parent Joseph Valerio, whose son, James, is a senior.
The archdiocese in July announced a record $660-million settlement with the victims of hundreds of clergy abuse cases. At least $250 million and up to $373 million of the total will be paid directly by the archdiocese, with the rest coming from insurers and various religious orders.
The archdiocese has said it will sell up to 50 non-parish properties, including its administrative headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard, to cover the bill. The most controversial move, so far, is the decision to sell a small convent in Santa Barbara, forcing several nuns to find other quarters.
The archdiocese decided to close the school at the end of the current academic year because the budget was so tight that administrators would have had to cut back on curriculum in order to stay open, Tamberg said.
The archdiocese will consider what to do with the site some time next year, he said, and promised that all of the teachers and students would be settled in new schools.
Parents, students and teachers got the bad news Friday, in the form of a letter from the archdiocese.
Most reacted with shock, said Rod Freer, whose son, Spencer, is a sophomore at the school.
Freer said his son called in the middle of the school day to tell him what was happening.
"He laid out the facts and told me how upset everybody was," said Freer, who hopes to organize parents to fight the decision. "It was quite a shock for all the students and the teachers."
A parent meeting is scheduled for tonight, Freer said, and he anticipates that the closure will be a major topic of discussion.
