Preston High School, an all-girls Catholic school in Throggs Neck founded in 1947, announced it will close at the end of this school year.
The school notified parents Feb. 25 about the impending closure and issued a statement.
“Preston High School’s Board of Trustees has made the most difficult decision to close the school at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year,” the school wrote. “Due to declining enrollment, Preston’s financial capacity limits the long-term future viability of the school. ”
The school added that it did not have the financial means to keep up with the maintenance costs of its “aging infrastructure” or improve its current programs. The statement said: “Preston High School is not in a position to sustain itself beyond the near future nor the long term.”
Preston isn’t the only local Catholic institution to close for similar reasons. Several other schools that have served the community for decades will close at the end of this academic year, including All Hallows and Sacred Heart School, both in the Highbridge/Concourse area, and Immaculate Conception School in Melrose.
Concerned Preston families established an Instagram account, @save.preston, and will hold a rally Feb. 27 to raise community awareness of the “sudden and unjust” closure.
“We will wear all black as a sign of solidarity and mourning for the school that has shaped so many young women’s lives. Let’s make our voices heard and demand answers,” the group posted on Feb. 26.
In a statement sent to the Bronx Times, the board of trustees said the possibility of closure was discussed “over many years.”
The board’s statement said that since 2023, the school had attempted to buy the property on which it is located, and, after extensive negotiations, was unable to purchase it.
A parent of a Preston student graduating this spring, who requested to have her name withheld, told the Bronx Times that the closure news was “a blow below the belt.”
The parent said they heard “nothing whatsoever” about financial difficulties at the school that could lead to its closure. She said she believes the decision to close was not fully in the school’s hands but was forced by the property owner who would not sell.
“Everyone is outraged,” she said. “It’s hard to say what’s going on.”
Although her daughter is graduating soon, she and her friends “are all devastated by this,” said the parent. She worries about current and incoming students who must now scramble to find somewhere to go. Where’s their future?”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
