CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Montessori High School at University Circle is slated to close a decade after it opened as the city's only high school dedicated to the 111-year-old "whole child" teaching method.

The school's board last week passed a resolution to close at the end of the school year, according to an email shared with The Plain Dealer. Students and parents were told of the decision on May 4, the following day.

According to the email, the school for several years was "operating at a significant deficit, despite generous financial support from board members, parents, foundations and other donors."

Head of School Gregg Good, who did not return a call for comment.

Board member Amy Ryder Wentz confirmed that the school would close June 30 and liquidate its assets, which include four Magnolia Drive properties in University Circle.

Wentz said the board made the decision because low enrollment numbers for the 2018-2019 school year were not sufficient to keep the school operating. Tuition for day students was around $25,000 a year. Students who boarded at the school was around $45,000.

Parents, graduates and community members met with the board and school officials Wednesday night at Alta House in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood for what one attendee described as a "spirited" discussion around the closing and the future of the school.

Many of the comments from people who said they were former students who wrote of the warm and welcoming environment and the confidence they gained while attending the school.

Wentz said the high school was one of just a few Montessori high schools in the country.

"The board and the parents and the students are all extremely passionate about this school," she said. Parents and community members after the meeting organized committees to see if there was any plan that board had not considered to save the school, she said. The board could reconsider the decision to close is a viable plan emerges, she said.

The school opened in 2008 with 37 students enrolled, according its web site. The following year it started offering an accredited International Baccalaureate diploma. It also offered innovative arts and community education by partnering with University Circle institutions.

The high school was opened with the help of Montessori Development Partners (MDP) 2012 as part of an effort to expand Montessori programs for adolescents. MDP, founded in the 1990s by Debra Guren and David Kahn to support the expansion of Montessori education, also invested in creating or supporting Stonebrook and Hershey Montessori for elementary school-aged children.

The school owns four properties on Magnolia Drive including Lillard Hall, Ferris House and Otis Boarding House, where some students reside.

According to the school's web site enrollment was about 110 students, with about 25 students boarding at the school. It's not clear what years those numbers are from.

Ohio Department of Education Enrollment numbers from 2017 show 25 freshman enrolled and 20 or fewer students in some of the upper grades.