HORNELL, N.Y. -- After 149 years in Hornell, St. Ann Catholic School is closing at the end of the school year.

Officials from the Diocese of Rochester say enrollment has declined in recent years and they can no longer maintain the building with such low finances.

One hundred students are currently enrolled and 85 are enrolled for next year.

Notices about the closure went out earlier this week. Officials from the school say shutting down a school is never an easy decision to make.

"This is something that deeply, deeply saddens me and I know others in the Diocese. It certainly was not taken lightly. The bishop took considerable time making his decision," said Superintendent of Catholic Schools Anne Willkens Leach.

The closest Catholic schools in the Southern Tier are All Saints Academy in Corning and a school that's part of the Buffalo Diocese.