Conflicted

I've heard today that the high school I attended back in Chicago is on the verge of having to close. The school has been in operation for just over 100 years. As distressing as this is to some, I find myself conflicted. More than thirty years have passed since I last walked the hallowed halls, passed the statue of Martin Luther en route to a class, or cheered on the Wildcats at a football or basketball game. For all intents and purposes, this has been a lifetime ago. I'm not an active alumni, having left Chicago for good in 1995. I married my high school sweetheart, got divorced and had no children to carry on the tradition of attending this school nestled into a quiet neighborhood on the north side of Chicago.

Financial difficulties are not uncommon in this day and age. And, I understand that LHSN faces a $1.8 million dollar shortfall with creditors coming due in June.

What does shock me is that once a vibrant parochial school with an average of 1300 students when I attended, now finds itself barely able to foster an enrollment of 300. I can't help but wonder how enrollment could have declined so much; whether it be the rising tuition costs that may have outpriced the common family; a lessening in the quality of education; or losing the support and encouragement of the Lutheran community at large.

It seems that the issues are more than just the amount owed. Without firsthand knowledge I cannot know if the education in this Christian setting is doing its best to prepare students to move forward with their education and be accepted into the best colleges and universities. There is a drive on now from many of those I went to school with to save Luther North. Even though my father went to its predecessor, Luther Institute, and my brothers and I attended four years each, I don't feel an overriding personal connection that would impel me to help save the school; too many unknowns, too many years past.

My memories are alive…making crepe paper flowers to decorate homecoming floats, dissecting frogs in biology, acting on stage for the first time in Moliere's Imaginary Invalid, singing in choirs and traveling around with the elite Luther Singers. I cherish the memories and if Luther High School North should discontinue its existence after the many years, the memories will always be there for me.