St. Alphonsus Catholic School in Brooklyn Center will close at the end of this academic year, according to Father John Schmidt, pastor of the parish.

The school — which was founded in 1959, serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students and offers a preschool program — has seen a shift in recent years, Father Schmidt explained. Enrollment has declined in the past 10 years from 175 students during the 2013-2014 school year to fewer than 100 this academic year. Meanwhile, recurrent teacher turnover and an increasing inability to fill open teaching positions in recent years “has impacted the quality of education,” Father Schmidt said.

“Regrettably, despite the dedicated efforts of our current teaching staff, parish leadership and the OMCE (the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office for the Mission of Catholic Education), the projections for the upcoming year indicate continued declining enrollment, an ongoing shortage of teachers, and a significant increase in parish funding requirements, which we are unable to meet,” Father Schmidt said, in part, in a statement.

Father Schmidt said the school will honor its contracts with full-time teachers and present parents with ways to explore neighboring Catholic schools. He thanked those dedicated to the school.

“I am so grateful to the many teachers, staff and parents who worked so hard over so many years to help form our children in our Catholic faith,” he said. “Please keep our teachers, staff, parents and students in your prayers.”