St. Sava Academy

I was able to interview Marko Bojovic, the principal of St. Sava Academy. It is the only Serbian Parochial School in Chicago. Since 2008, the school has seen a decline in student enrollment, and subsequently, the funding for the school has declined.

Later this fall, the school board has a tough decision to make. Because the number of students is declining, the board may be forced to cut the seventh and eight grade classes and consolidate the fifth and sixth grade classes. The board is also looking at different fund raising options.

Bojovic said two-thirds of the school’s $400,000 yearly budget comes from tuition, the rest from fund raising. He also said the reason for the decline in students is because most of the students come from working class families. Another reason why the school loses students is because the school cannot accommodate the upper classes in terms of a gym or sports.

“We usually lose them in the upper grades,” said Bojovic. “There are no sports programs. We don’t have a gym.”

If the fundraising and consolidating doesn’t help, the school may be forced to shut down.

As I mentioned, I am going to focus on this problem for my thesis. I’m hoping to talk to families that have students enrolled in the school and families that did but chose to take them out.