Saint Dominic Academy / Diocese of Portland / Website
CV NEWS FEED // The Diocese of Portland, Maine, is closing the high school portion of the only diocesan school in Maine that serves pre-K–12 grades.
St. Dominic Academy has two campuses, one in Lewiston for elementary students and another in Auburn for middle and high school. The diocese has announced it will shut down the high school classes and operations on its Auburn campus.
In a letter to families, Bishop James T. Ruggieri cited long-standing financial deficits, low enrollment, and demographic trends as reasons for the decision.
“St. Dominic Academy has had a profound impact on the lives of its high school students and their families for decades,” the bishop wrote. “Its closure hurts in so many profound ways. My decision was not a subjective choice, but rather a result of objective reality.”
Since 2020, St. Dominic Academy in Auburn has operated at an annual deficit. By the end of this school year, the total shortfall is projected to reach $2.5 million. The school is currently dependent on diocesan loans to meet basic obligations.
“Beginning last week the diocese began loaning funds to the school because it did not have the money to make payroll for teachers and staff and to pay vendors,” the bishop stated. “This on-going cash flow issue is a result of a dependence on future tuition payments.”
This year alone, the financial situation includes an estimated $1.2 million in diocesan loans: $900,000 for payroll and vendor bills, and $300,000 for health insurance, pensions, and property insurance. To close the budget gap, families would need to pay an additional $3,000 per student before year-end.
Current enrollment in the high school division is 137 students. A diocesan study concluded high school classes will most likely not increase dramatically enough to fund future operating costs and alleviate the school’s debt, given the projected 2.7% decline in local youth populations.
Tuition for the current school year is $14,450.
“It is unrealistic to presume a far greater percentage of our families will be able to pay full tuition,” the bishop noted.
Citing U.S. Census data, he wrote that the median income in Lewiston is $56,556. In Auburn, it is $66,552. In the 2022–23 school year, 60% of students received financial assistance.
An April 10 meeting at the Auburn campus for parents of 8th- 12th-grade students drew a large crowd.
In a Facebook post the following morning, the school expressed gratitude for the number of people who attended the meeting.
“It was a great turnout from a community committed to Catholic education, united in our desire for [the] success of the whole Academy,” the post said.
The diocese will hold another meeting April 14 at the Lewiston campus for parents of students in pre-K through eighth grade.
Following the closure announcement, families and staff formed a Steering Committee to explore the launch of an independent Catholic high school. An April 10 Facebook post from the school thanked parents for pledging more than $500,000 to transition the school to an independent model.
The bishop expressed openness to an independent model but said, “The diocese will not finance, staff, nor operate the high school after the end of this school year.”
He noted that any new high school entity must rent the Auburn campus and assume full responsibility for fundraising, operations, and staffing.
