Families, Students Upset Catholic Elementary School Is Closing

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Several children had tears in their eyes Wednesday night as they stood with their families in Downtown L.A. and rallied against the closure of their Catholic elementary school.

The Archdiocese announced in April that it was closing its school because there aren't enough funds to make necessary fixes to technology and infrastructure, KCAL9's Randy Paige reports.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles says having five elementary schools within a 3-mile radius also led to low enrollment.

"The environment of the school is like a big family," said Rony Peraza, whose son Roman is a student at the school. "Now, every morning, he's ready to go to school. He's waiting for me and telling me to hurry up and get out. And when I come to the school I see how happy the kids are."

Student Anthony Ortega was among those gathered Wednesday in support of the school.

"If you could somehow talk to the people at the Archdiocese what would you tell them?" Paige said.

But the Archdiocese says there's plenty wrong with the school and they can't justify financing the upgrades.