Displaced Costa Catholic Academy will start the 2023-24 school year in Downtown Galesburg. Costa officials notified parents and staff Tuesday that McAteer Center on the campus of Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 273 S. Prairie St., will serve as the temporary location when classes start Sept. 5.
The school announced Aug. 3 that extensive building damage from a pair of summer storms would delay the start of classes and cause the school to seek a temporary location for the start of the upcoming school year. Costa was scheduled to begin school today (Wednesday).
The email to parents and staff dated Aug. 15 read:
“Several building opportunities initially presented themselves, but after looking at them and assessing the turnaround time and positives/negatives for the students and teachers we have recently decided that our own McAteer Center on the campus of Corpus Christi is our best option for our students. This space provides classrooms for each grade level, as well as a cafeteria space and playground space. Rest assured that this decision has been made after much time in prayer, conversations with school and the Diocese, and with careful consideration of our students and teachers’ needs.”
McAteer Center has been the main center for the church’s parishes. The parish staff will be temporarily moved next door into the rectory at Corpus Christi. Once they have been moved, the school will begin the process of moving the teachers into their new temporary locations.
Superintendent Susan Miller of the Catholic Schools Diocese of Peoria said in a previous statement “the root cause” of the damage to Costa Catholic Academy was identified as a broken drain pipe on the roof.
Costa and Peoria Diocese officials had explored using the former Churchill Junior High School building before settling on McAteer Center.
