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Lutheran North HS To Close; Parents And Students Caught Off-Guard

(CBS) – A private school on Chicago's Northwest Side will close in June after serving the community for 64 years.

The news caught a lot of parents and students off guard, CBS 2's Sandra Torres reports.

"There was no warning, no heads-up," says Kim Hansen.

She is not only the mother of two students at Luther North High School, she is also a 1999 alum.

"This is our family. We all know each other. We all know everybody's kid," Hansen says.

So, when she found out the board of trustees decided to close the school come June, she says she was devastated.

"This bomb got dropped on us Friday, in an email after school," she says.

In the email, Luther North College Prep officials said they are "facing declining student enrolment and ongoing financial challenges."

In the 1960s and '70s, student enrolment exceeded 1,400 students. Today, they have 170.

Hansen says it's heartbreaking because junior assumed they would be graduating from the school in 2018. Now, their families must figure out what to do next, unless fundraising can keep the school open for another year.

"Some great leader said children are raised by communities, not just by individuals, and Luther's been a family," parent Sean Lafleur says.

The school's principal says he and other school administrators planned to meet with parents and students Thursday night, to discuss the next steps.

 

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