Top California private school suddenly shuts down — as shameful $400M settlement paid out
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A 138-year-old Catholic school in California has suddenly shut down after running out of money — just days after the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to pay nearly $400 million to hundreds of alleged clergy sex abuse survivors in one of the largest settlements of its kind.
Families at St. Brigid Academy in San Francisco were blindsided Thursday when told the school would permanently close and that deposits for the $20,950 annual tuition would be refunded later this summer.
The closure came as the Archdiocese announced a roughly $395 million settlement that will compensate about 530 survivors who say they were sexually abused by clergy members as children, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
St. Brigid, which opened in 1888, had recently transformed into a K-8 microschool with multi-age classrooms.
The school specialized in educating neurodivergent and gifted students through individualized instruction, maintaining a 4-to-1 student-teacher ratio.
“After a thorough review of the school’s finances and after exhausting every available alternative to us, we deeply regret that the school can no longer sustainably operate or fulfill its mission to your children,” Chris Fisher, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese, wrote to families.
“We recognize that this announcement brings disappointment, uncertainty, and grief to many families who have entrusted Saint Brigid Academy with their children’s education and formation.”
Parents are now frantic to find new schools just weeks before classes begin, fearing it will be nearly impossible to secure spots in similar specialized programs after the enrollment season ends.
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The settlement announced Monday follows the Archdiocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in August 2023 after California’s Child Victims Act temporarily lifted the civil statute of limitations.
This allowed survivors to pursue decades-old child sex abuse claims between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2022.
The agreement also requires greater transparency from the Archdiocese by prohibiting confidentiality agreements in future settlements and requiring broader disclosure of clergy members accused of abuse.
According to plaintiffs’ attorneys, the Archdiocese of San Francisco was the only Catholic diocese in California that had not released a list of clergy members credibly accused of child sex abuse as of 2023.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeff Anderson said a committee of survivors worked alongside attorneys to negotiate the agreement and that each survivor will vote on whether to approve its terms.
“It’s a joint effort that has been underway for years,” Anderson said. “This represents, effectively, the most robust non-economic settlement that’s ever been made in the country.”
The Archdiocese’s bankruptcy filing followed the passage of California’s Child Victims Act, which prompted thousands of lawsuits against individuals and institutions across the state, with Catholic dioceses among the hardest hit.
San Francisco was among the first California dioceses to seek bankruptcy protection, followed by Santa Rosa, Oakland and Sacramento, per the SF Chronicle.
The school’s closure also comes weeks after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland announced it would shutter 13 East Bay parishes, blaming financial pressures stemming from hundreds of child sex abuse lawsuits against its own clergy members.