Funding Shortage To Close Santa Rosa's Ursuline School

SANTA ROSA (AP) - A historic Catholic school for girls in Santa Rosa has announced that it will close after 130 years.

The Ursuline Sisters of Santa Rosa notified about 35 staff members Tuesday that they have to shutter Ursuline High School at the end of the academic year because of lack of funding. School officials said enrollment has declined by 30 percent since the 1999-2000 school year, and more students have been applying for financial aid to cover the $11,000 per year tuition.

The Ursuline board of directors agreed to use $1.2 million in retirement and ministry funds to operate the school through 2011.  The neighboring Cardinal Newman Catholic high school said Ursuline's 280 students would be admitted to the historically all-boys school beginning next year.

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