In a moment when Preston High School alum Eugenia Wolovich needed support, she says the Sisters of the Divine Compassion were there for her.

“When I graduated, my brother had passed away, and at his funeral, I saw the sisters there,” Wolovich said.

The institution owns the land Preston High School sits on and holds roles in the administration.

Wolovich, who is now a teacher at the all-girls Catholic school, is hoping they’ll show compassion once again and reverse course on plans to shut the school down at the end of the school year.

“Every faculty member said, ‘What about the kids?’ No one asked about severance. No one asked if we would be paid until the end of the year. Our first reaction was, ‘Where do the kids go?’” Wolovich said.

In a schoolwide letter, the Board of Trustees says low enrollment and finances were to blame.

Wolovich says that’s not true. In fact, enrollment is up.

“We are in the black. We’re net zero. We don’t cost the nuns any money to this institution,” Wolovich said.

Dozens of community members came out to support the school during a protest Thursday.

“It’s really disappointing what’s going on. The word that comes to mind is betrayal,” parent Wayne Wattley said.

“People that are supposed to model compassion and sacrifice are doing the opposite,” parent Carlos Munoz said.

School leadership now wants to buy the waterfront property from the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, starting a massive fundraising drive, to keep it afloat for another 75 years.

“This is an expansive property, right? I imagine developers would get a pretty penny for this, but why should it be developers and not just a high school for girls?” Wolovich said.

While Preston High School is scheduled to close in June, the school has a lease with the Sisters of the Divine Compassion until 2027, which could complicate things.