SPRINGFIELD — Bridget Timoney described St. Patrick Catholic School as “a little family community.”
She would know.
Timoney spent four years working at the elementary school on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and South Grand Avenue as a part-time instructional coach before stepping into the principal’s role after the start of this school year.
A star athlete at the now-shuttered Ursuline Academy, Timoney, 55, taught and coached at Incarnate Word Academy and served as principal at Bishop DuBourg High School, both Catholic institutions in St. Louis.
Several years ago, Timoney returned to Springfield to take care of her mother, Margaret Ann “Marge” Timoney, who passed away in 2025, and through Saint Louis University, where she got her master’s degree, caught on St. Patrick’s.
Timoney said Thursday there were tears–the day after the board had announced the school would close at the end of the school year–and thoughts of what might happen next.
“It’s a loving atmosphere,” Timoney said. “The moral character we build with the students is important to the families. We meet the kids where they are and help them grow academically, but spiritually, as well, and morally, so they can make good decisions and be good people. Be empathetic. Be compassionate and take care of each other and I think the parents are looking for that.”
The school has been in the neighborhood since 1910, first staffed by Springfield Dominican sisters and attached to St. Patrick’s Church. It serves a mostly low-income population that is non-Catholic.
It has operated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization for approximately 25 years, said Erik Woehrmann, president of the school’s board of directors, though it maintained a relationship with St. Katharine Drexel Parish, which includes St. Patrick’s and Sacred Heart churches.
The school employs 15 teachers, aides and other staff members and the Springfield Catholic Diocese was helping them with placement, he said.
The not-for-profit corporation will carry on, Woehrmann added, by offering a St. Patrick Scholarship Program to continue supporting families seeking Catholic education for their children. The scholarship program will be funded through remaining school assets, permanent endowment fund earnings, continuing fundraising efforts and ongoing donor support.Â
“This wasn’t a snap decision,” said Woehrmann, addressing the media March 5. “I’ve been on the board for about five years. Every year, as we were deliberating the budget, we were seeing grants, diminished fundraising. There’s so much room for an emotional decision in this and I think the board did a stellar job of just looking at the facts and saying we have to make the most responsible decision for our families and our staff.”
The religious sisters are gone, except one, Sister Angelene Biderbost, who teaches religion, Timoney said, but the Dominican spirit has remained. About a dozen or so sisters came back for a Catholic Schools Week luncheon at St. Patrick’s in late January.
While most of the 52 students at St. Patrick’s, which goes from kindergarten to fifth grade, aren’t Catholic, Timoney said most parents of those students will seek out another Catholic school, rather a public school.
“They want a faith-based education (for their kids),” Timoney said. “They want the small environment. They want us to pray with the students. We pray every morning. We pray at every meal. We pray at the end of the day.”
Woehrmann said a number of factors were at play in closing the school and that the board did thorough budget analyses and contracted with national firms that specialize in working to raise money for Catholic schools and Catholic education.
Under its model, parents/guardians paid $75 per month (for two or more kids) or $50 per month (for one child) over 10 months for tuition. A spokesperson for the diocese said the annual cost to educate a child at St. Patrick’s was $11,000.
That difference was made up by the diocese foundation, other annual contributions from the diocese, fundraising and grants and the Invest in Kids program, which expired at the end of 2023. The school also had free use of the building, which is owned by the diocese.
Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory said Thursday he hated to hear about the loss of any educational institution, especially one in his ward.
“I know some parents are going to be disappointed, but I hear they’re going to continue the scholarship program for kids who want to continue on the path they’re on now. I’m sure they’ll do a good job of making sure everybody gets transitioned into whatever is the next educational step for them and I’ll do all I can to help as always in all things that concern my ward,” Gregory said.
Timoney was hoping to keep the community together, “but you also have to be realistic with it. It’s definitely a challenge mentally with the closure, but you’re extremely sad for the staff and our students,” she said. “It was an emotional day today. The staff is very worried about the students and who’s going to care for them. It is a unique setting for them.”
Timoney said the school usually has a field trip, a “fun day,” a “moving on ceremony” for its fifth graders and a mass towards the end of school. She also anticipated some sort of celebration with the school’s alumni.
“We want to finish the school year on the best note,” Timoney said.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Staff, parents, students come to grips with Springfield school closing
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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