Parents outraged after Diocese says Brevard County Catholic school will close

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. - "I can’t even put into words how I feel. Heartbroken doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel. My children are devastated," said parent Christina Garcia. 

Parents and students at Divine Mercy Catholic Academy in Merritt Island are expressing their shock after they received an email from the Diocese of Orlando saying the school has to shut its doors by the end of the school year.

7th grader Isabella Garcia said she had one more year to go before high school and told FOX 35 that "I’m very heartbroken. I don’t know where I’m going to go now. It is going to really mess up my future in a way."

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She added that they were completely caught off guard when they got the letter.

"This happened at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, which also happened to be the same day that Brevard County Public Schools closed their choice for enrolling our students," she said. 

The letter from the Diocese to parents said, in part: "Since 2010 our school has struggled in enrollment. This struggle has become even more profound with the impact of the pandemic... we continue to experience declining enrollment."

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Divine Mercy is one of four Catholic elementary schools in Brevard County.

Parents said that more than 20 staff members will be unemployed once the school shuts their doors and 140 students will be impacted.

Parents confirmed that they have not received any response to their complaints from the Diocese of Orlando yet.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.