Our Lady of Fatima HS to close in June

WARREN, R.I. (WPRI) - Declining enrollment and increased subsidy payments have forced a Warren school to close its doors.

Our Lady of Fatima High School, located at 360 Market St., will shut down after the 2012 academic year.

Despite efforts to increase enrollment, the projection for next year's new students is far below what the Catholic school needed to stay afloat.

Fatima will graduate 22 students in June.

The Sisters of Saint Dorothy shared the news with parents at a meeting Thursday night, and are encouraging them to enroll younger students in other Catholic programs.

"We will work with families to place students in new schools and with the staff to help them find new employment," said Sister Dorothy Schwarz in a news release.

Due to financial instability, school officials were forced to subsidize the ministry of the school. The subsidies grew each year due to low enrollment numbers, and the school could not keep up with the payments.

Students protested the closing outside of the school Friday morning, hoping the change the decision of school officials.

One student tells Eyewitness News that it feels like she's losing her second home.

"Even though I'm graduating after this year, they're taking away something for us to come home to," said senior Marissa King. "Fatima is more than just a school, it's a family."

The school has been educating students since 1965.