Holy Trinity School, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, will close in June, a victim of the economic downturn that has made private school tuition an expense struggling parents are unable to bear.

Dwindling enrollment and a steep increase in the number of students needing financial assistance brought a budget crisis to the small East Honolulu Catholic school, said the Rev. Gary Secor, pastor of Holy Trinity Church.

Secor told the 12-member faculty Monday that the doors will close at the end of the current school year. Letters are in the mail to parents of the 69 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Ironically, a new banner was hung in the school gymnasium yesterday proclaiming Holy Trinity one of the nation's Catholic “;Schools for Tomorrow.”; The banner was brought back by the principal, Sister Rose Miriam Schillinger, from the National Catholic Education Association conference last week. Holy Trinity was one of 12 schools in the nation recognized for excellence in fostering religious identity and mission. The award was linked, in part, to students' participation in helping the late artist Peggy Chun create a painting of Father Damien De Veuster that art teacher Shelley Mecum presented to Pope Benedict XVI in Rome in October.

“;There's a lot to celebrate,”; said Sister John Joseph Gilligan, associate principal, pointing out the banner as well as two plaques, 2009 awards for sportsmanship presented by the Catholic School League to the girls basketball and volleyball teams. With a small pool of athletes to compete against bigger schools, “;we may not always be game winners, but they are winners in their attitudes and in how they work together,”; Gilligan said.

“;We're not closing for any failings of the school, not for lack of academic excellence or student engagement, not for any other reason than missing the money to continue,”; she said.

Although they projected a balanced budget this year, Secor said, “;we gave out $70,000 more in financial aid than we had budgeted.”;

He said the shortfall increases the burden on the 1,000-member parish, which subsidizes the school with about $100,000 per year.

“;It was not an abrupt decision,”; said the pastor. “;Basically we have struggled over a number of years to make ends meet. We had to borrow $240,000 from the diocese a year and a half ago to make it through the 2008-2009 school year.

“;It's an essential part of the parish mission. We don't like to refuse the possibility of a Catholic education, but there is a limit on how much we can absorb,”; he said.

Catholic children make up 51 percent of the student body; of those, 47 percent are in Holy Trinity parish families.

Enrollment has declined in recent years although the school tried to “;keep tuition in an affordable range,”; Secor said. The tuition was $6,950 this year, and it was slated to increase by $200.

Every Holy Trinity student, along with many parents and faculty members, participated in the Malama Maunalua Bay project Feb. 1, joining other volunteers in pulling invasive seaweed and debris from the bay, said fourth-grade teacher Elizabeth McIntosh. The youngsters also collect food for distribution through the parish food pantry and help adults prepare meals whenever the parish takes its turn hosting homeless families through the Family Promise program.

“;If only someone wanted to help,”; McIntosh said. “;We need a millionaire benefactor who wants to help people in his own back yard.”;

But Secor said, “;It's a multifaceted issue. ... We don't just want to survive; we want the school to thrive. Looking ahead, it doesn't look like the economy will turn around. It's a hard decision to make.”;