BURBANK — St. Laurence High School sent an email survey to alumni Friday morning asking for their thoughts about possibly becoming a coed school.
The all-boys Catholic school at 5556 W. 77th St. in south suburban Burbank is considering the change after neighboring Queen of Peace High School announced plans to close at the end of the school year, according to the email.
St. Laurence Principal James Muting Jr. initially said there were no plans for the school to become coed upon learning that the nearby all-girls Catholic school planned to close. Muting could not be reached for comment Friday morning.
The email seems to present a change of heart, and four options are laid out for St. Laurence alumni to consider. The first is to remain an all-boys school. The second is to bring in the existing Queen of Peace students into St. Laurence to allow them to graduate together.
"This would entail the female students taking their own classes, in our building but separate from St. Laurence students," the email says.
The third option is described as a hybrid approach. It too would bring current Queen of Peace students into St. Laurence to graduate with their class. But the school would then begin to transition into becoming fully coed.
That could include reaching out to girls who tested to become Queen of Peace students this year and inviting them to be part of a coed freshman class at St. Laurence in the fall, the email authored by St. Laurence President Joseph Martinez says.
The final option is to simply become coed and integrate all Queen of Peace students alongside the boys without any sort of transition period. The 14-question survey seeks input on all four options.
"Following the collection of results, data will be presented to our board of directors and members of our corporation in order to help finalize our future plans," the Martinez email said.
Queen of Peace was founded in the hallways of St. Laurence in 1962.
A poor showing at the entrance exam last month, along with the inability to raise the $1 million annually to cover the resulting shortfall, doomed Queen of Peace, officials said.
"We have analyzed the data from every direction and evaluated many potential scenarios. The simple truth is beyond this school year, we are not financially able to continue to provide the quality education and supportive environment your daughter deserves and you expect from Queen of Peace," Queen of Peace President Anne O'Malley wrote in a letter to parents.
Dwindling enrollment also was cited as one of the primary reasons for Queen of Peace's closure. It has just 288 students this year. Muting previously said enrollment at St. Laurence sits at 530 students, and the student population has increased steadily in each of the last four years.
