Jenkintown's St. Basil's Academy To Permanently Close

JENKINTOWN, PA — The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be felt around southeastern Pennsylvania, as a longstanding private school in Montgomery County announced that it will permanently close.

St. Basil's Academy Catholic, all-girls high school in Jenkintown, said that shortfalls related to COVID-19 made an already tight financial situation untenable. Its yearly tuition is $14,550.

"We understand this unwelcome news brings shock, heartbreak, and uncertainty to many in our school community," the school shared in a recent announcement. "We, too, are heartbroken."

St. Basil's has been in operation since 1931.

The school will remain open for the remainder of the school year and close in the spring of 2021.

St. Basil's said they would work with the school's current students to help them find alternative options to continue their education next year. Prior to the pandemic, the school had around 260 students enrolled.

In addition, dozens of teachers and staff members will lose jobs.

>>Audubon's St. Gabriel's, School For At-Risk Youth, To Shut Down

It's not the first local Catholic school to announce its closure as a result of pandemic-related financial trouble. In nearby Audubon, St. Gabriel's Hall, a school and treatment center for at-risk youth, is also shutting down. It's been open for more than a century.

It's not yet clear what will happen with the property at St. Basil's, located at 711 Fox Chase Road. The campus adjacent to Foxchase Manor Park and East Abington Little League's fields.