John Paul II will stay open another year

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A local Terre Haute high school that was set to close at the end of the school year, will remain open for at least one more year.

On Jan. 18, the Board of Directors of John Paul II Catholic High School announced the school's closing , and thanked the students, teachers and parents that contributed to the success of the school.

Saturday, News 10 received a release from the new school board stating quite the opposite.  It said, “[The] newly reconstituted board rescinded the decision and agreed to continue the operation of the school next year, and for years to come.”

Principal, Ron Eldred said he felt the previous announcement of the school's closing may have come to soon.

"Some of us were very upset, because as I said we thought it was premature, but on the other hand, maybe there's a positive side," Eldred said. That positive side was that the announcement brought more awareness to their financial situation.

Parents of students and supporters of the school managed to raise enough money to keep the school afloat for the remainder of the year, and enough to put a palpable dent in the funding for next year. Eldred said they were able to raise nearly $60,000 in just one week. 

They new board has made a plan to reduce building expenses in various ways, finding additional volunteer faculty and recruiting more students just to name a few.

JP II graduates have gone on to colleges and universities like Rose-Hulman, Purdue, Indiana University,  Ball State University, Indiana State University, Southern Indiana University, IVY Tech, Butler University, Marian College, Ave Maria University, Franciscan University, Xavier, Dayton University, and others.