Fighting To Keep Cardinal Dougherty Open

Philadelphia, PA - Students and alumni are fighting to keep Cardinal Dougherty High School open. A week ago, the Archdiocese announced it is one of two catholic high schools scheduled to close.  Protesters think they can get the board to change its mind.

On a miserable rainy day, about 500 students and alumni gathered for a rally in front of Cardinal Dougherty High School.

"We care about Cardinal Dougherty High School. We care about Catholic education in the city of Philadelphia, and we are not going to give up," said Pennsylvania State Representative Brendan Boyle, 170th District.

They're angered over the Archdiocese decision to close the school at the end of the year.

"I was absolutely devastated when I found out. It's almost like you're going off to college and you're not going to have a home to come back to. You're just leaving and there's nothing there -- like you lost your roots," said K.C. Scanlan, a cheerleader and Senior at Cardinal Dougherty.

In the early '70's Cardinal Dougherty had close to 6-thousand students, and tuition was about $150 a year. But times have changed and so has the cost, now there are only 640 students, and tuition is close to 5-thousand dollars a year.

"When I was here I believe it was the largest Catholic High School in the World. My brothers and I went here. It was a tremendous experience," said John Givnish, Class of 1973.

The Archdiocese says its decision is final, but prominent alumni here at Cardinal Dougherty believe there are alternatives that need to be explored.

"There are smaller schools that have the same problem. Why not take the smaller schools and add them into the bigger school?" asked Greg Striano, Class of 1966.

Judge Seamus McCaffery, best know for Eagles Court, and a 1968 graduate said, "These are grownups. These aren't just kids standing here, just parents standing here. These are serious members of the community who are looking to think outside the box."

Judge Seamus McCaffery is leading charge. He says one option is to turn the school into an information technology hub drawing students from the city and the suburbs.

Drawing from the suburbs might be one of the only solutions, since neighborhood enrollment has dropped dramatically. The Archdiocese says right now they can't hire enough teachers to offer classes in anything but the core subjects.