Parents at St. Mary Star of the Sea Elementary School in the Bronx are upset after the school was one of 12 elementary schools in the city slated for closure by the Archdiocese of New York Tuesday. NY1's Erin Clarke filed the following report.

St. Mary Star of the Sea parents are venting their frustration about the Archdiocese of New York's decision to close their City Island elementary school.

"I sat down and talked to my kids yesterday when I found out myself, and my youngest, she just cried her heart out," said parent Van Carlton.

After being told the school needed to present a plan that showed it could be sustainable for three years, parents said they were prepared to pay more for tuition, decrease school expenses and up fundraising. Still, the Archdiocese said it had to take into account enrollment and demographic data.

"What they asked us to do, we did, and they rejected it, and we don't know why," said parent Millie Colon. "All we were told, that it wasn't an effective plan."

Eight schools were put on notice in November, and all but one of them is now being shut down. St. Mary School in Williamsbridge received a reprieve.

"We're going to get to come back to our old school, get to see all our old teachers and everything, and now, the seven grade can go into eighth grade," said Ashley Wallen, an eighth grader at St. Mary's.

The news has parents at the other school wondering what they could have done to get the same good news. Some think the Archdiocese already had its mind made up.

"The Archdiocese, as far as I'm concerned, they straight forward lied to us," Carlton said.

Parents said they've been told that other Catholic schools in the Bronx and as far as New Rochelle will take their students in and help ease the burden of increased tuition. But they said no place will be the same as St. Mary Star of the Sea.