WHEELING, W. Va -- Wheeling attorney Paul Harris' daughter is a ninth-grader at Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy in Wheeling. He said he sees value in sending her to an all-girls school, and doesn't want to see it close its doors for good.

In a news conference last week, the Visitation Sisters announced the school's decreasing enrollment and increasing costs were forcing them to close the academy on graduation day, May 31, 2008.

Harris said some parents have put together a business plan that includes strategies like making improvements and upgrades to the buildings, in order to cut the soaring heat bills.

The plan also includes bringing the student-to-faculty ratio in line with other private schools in the area.

"With the Mount [the ratio is] 3.5 to 1. So the students are receiving considerable attention from faculty with a 3.5 to 1 ratio, but that's not workable," Harris said.

Parents and school officials plan to hold a public meeting on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Mount on Washington Avenue.

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