ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. John Vianney Catholic School in St. Petersburg is closing its doors for good after Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused extensive damage.
The announcement was made during a Nov. 13 meeting with impacted parents.
The school on St. Pete Beach is so damaged from the storms, school leaders made the tough choice to shut down permanently.
"It's awful…it's one thing to go through it, but then all the steps to recover, it's awful," said Brenda Puchalski, a parent.
Many families on St. Pete Beach not only have to assess their home damage, they also have to make adjustments to their children's education.
"It's heartbreaking. It's a huge adjustment for everyone…it's already difficult because a lot of these families are displaced from their homes as well, so to have that added stress of shifting to a different school," said Michelle Henriksson, another parent.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused extensive damage to Saint John Vianney Catholic School on St. Pete Beach. ABC Action News spoke to the assistant principal between the storms in early October.
"It was very emotional, it's been my home for 14 years so walking in and seeing that school was devastating," said Megan Rivera, Assistant Principal.
Since then, the community has come together to help.
One organization, the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts, donated 3,000 books to replace the school's library, but those books and students are being separated.
Students and faculty were divided up and have been attending three different Catholic schools since October.
Those schools include Cathedral School of St. Jude, The Pastoral Center, and St. Petersburg Catholic High School.
"They are going to have that sense of safety that maybe right now they are not having. I think it's going to be incredible for them. Also to witness the generosity of other Catholic schools," said Rivera.
Saint John Vianney Catholic School notified parents and students Wednesday night that due to the damage and the limited resources the school has, it's now closing its doors permanently.
"I can't even imagine that added stress of taking my child to a school that's probably not even close to where I live is even worse…and unplanned," said Puchalski.
Starting next school year, students from Saint John Vianney Catholic School will attend Cathedral School of St. Jude as permanent students.
Henriksson and Puchalski have students who attend the temporary schools…and they're thankful the community is helping those displaced students.
"I just think it's amazing. I think they are really stepping up and quickly accommodating them," said Henriksson.
"Knowing the school is supportive takes one of those stressors off of your plate, which is huge," said Puchalski.
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