When Mary Holtorf hears about another round of Catholic schools closing, she feels a little sad that some students are missing out on an alternate education.

Yet Holtorf, the principal of Pacelli Catholic Schools, also takes great pride in knowing Pacelli is nowhere near close to closing any time soon.

“For many years, (Pacelli’s) had this question, when are we going to close? We’ve really tried to combat that with, ‘No we’re not,’” Holtorf said. “We’re moving in the right direction.”

With more than $2.4 million raised in the first year of a three-year, $3.5 million fundraising campaign, Pacelli appears to have weathered an economic storm that helped close five Catholic schools in Minnesota in little more than a year. The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced two Metro-area schools would close in February of last year and revealed in January three more schools would shut down.

More often than not, the downturn in donations to a diocese is the reason behind a Catholic school closing, although private schools across the U.S. are feeling the pinch in recent years. For Catholic schools, costs have gone up as the amount of priests and nuns in the classroom have gone down.

“In the ‘60s and ‘70s … we had nuns and priests (teaching) in schools,” Holtorf said. “And their salaries were quite a bit less than a layperson’s.”

As the number of priests, nuns and Catholic figures decreased nationwide, so too did priests and nuns in schools like Pacelli. Currently, only Father Greg Parrott teaches in Pacelli.

While money is a large concern, Holtorf said donors in the Austin area and abroad are very supportive. This donation base partially contributes to scholarship programs Pacelli parents use to offset tuition costs, which in recent years have become a larger concern.

Currently, about 75 percent of Pacelli families have tuition assistance. While parishioners pay $3,300 and $4,800 per year for elementary through middle school students and high school students, respectively, non-members of the area parish pay $4,050 and $5,500 per year. That’s why Pacelli puts on fundraisers like Pacelli’s Christmas Tree Pick-Up, the Walk-A-Thon in fall and the upcoming February auction.

“We are very creative,” said Holtorf. “It’s an area where you have to be very creative, for any non-profit to make sure they stay going.”

Pacelli’s council isn’t done preparing for the future, however. School officials are currently reviewing and renewing their mission statement and core values, the first step to create long-term planning for the school system. While in recent years a few residents have wondered why Pacelli hasn’t turned into a Christian school in order to attract more donors, Holtorf remains firm on keeping Pacelli growing the way it is.

“You have to stay true to your mission,” Holtorf said. “These schools are started for a reason, and that’s to pass on the Catholic education to our students. The stronger you are in that mission, the better it is for your school.”