Parent Accuses Priest Of Having Agenda To Close St. Rose School in Wilmington

A Catholic School in Wilmington is merging with another school. St. Rose has been open for 73 years. One parent of an 8th grader who attends Saint Rose Catholic School in Wilmington is accusing the priest of St. Rose of having an agenda. Mark Hobbs says, “when Bishop Conlon was Bishop he never wanted to close St. Rose and was adamant that he didn’t want to close the school” but since Bishop Conlon suffered a stroke and stepped down Hobbs says Father Sebastian Gargol of St. Rose had an agenda and convinced interim Bishop Richard Pates to close the school

Parents were sent a letter on March 30th stating the Joliet Diocese Board of Education is recommending that St. Rose merge with St. Joseph’s Manhattan campus beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. Bishop Pates has approved the merger.

Hobbs is suspicious of the merger considering St. Rose is less of a burden to the parish. The school received 11% less funding last year than the year prior.

St. Rose serves as a community center, feeding the poor. Their recent fundraiser raised $98,000.

Hobb’s says he’s never heard of a school closing this late in the school year. Typically, within the Diocese, school closings must be announced by December.

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