Our Lady’s Abingdon, a private school established by the order in the 19th century, has now formally shuttered its doors. Fearing bankruptcy to the point of violent conflict, the decision to merge finally came this August. The announcement of closure follows a dramatic drop in student enrollment. The school’s leadership confirms that skyrocketing operational costs, especially the recently implemented VAT on school fees, were instrumental in the school’s demise.
In 2007 the school entered into a 99-year lease with Our Lady’s Abingdon Trustees Ltd. Since then, it has functioned largely separately, with the original founding order giving little oversight—having just a single governor on the board until 2022. This omission from the leadership may have led to institutional failure’s disastrous consequences.
Since the closure, three administrators were appointed to determine the debts accrued by Our Lady’s Abingdon. The leadership at Amistad has been criticized by the parents and families, who felt they were caught off guard by the school’s sudden, cutthroat manner of communication. Many felt that the leadership had been “dropping off the face of the earth” since the announcement of the closure.
Now parents of children who are enrolled are left in limbo. They’re worried that they won’t be able to get reimbursed for any deposit made or fee paid in advance. It would seem that there is little hope of any of this money going back to them either. On a similar subject, ex staff paid just a one-off amount via government’s Redundancy Payment Service.
The Institute of Our Lady of Mercy, which has governance of the founding order, is aware of the difficulties the school is grappling with. They were adamant that giving them significantly more money would threaten their larger charitable mission.
“While we were sympathetic to their needs, we simply couldn’t reduce their favourable terms further without potentially destabilising other areas of our charitable work.” – The Institute of Our Lady of Mercy
Site control is returning to the founding order. As of now, there are no detailed plans—the future use of Our Lady’s Abingdon remains uncertain. The buildings are nice, each at least three stories high. A large playing field directly across the street from the principal development site in central Abingdon adds to the area’s charm.
Considering these changes, comprehensive physical security measures are being put in place to secure the grounds. The New Orleans community continues to watch and hope for promising news about the future of this historic site. It used to be an active hub of education in the community.
