Attorney General Letitia James heard just over three hours of public testimony on Tuesday night about the impact that the potential closure Preston High School could have on the community.

The longtime Catholic high school in Throggs Neck announced it would be closing for good at the end of the 2024 - 2025 school year.

At the hearing, the attorney general heard from panels of students, faculty, staff and alumni of the high school. The Attorney General’s Office has oversight on nonprofits, including the Sisters of the Divine Compassion.

"We wanted to make sure that they exercise appropriate care in their decision making and consider the impact of their decisions on the people they serve," said Attorney General James.

Rallies have been held since the announcement in late February.

AG James said she invited The Sisters of the Divine Compassion to testify at the hearing, but they declined her invite and sent a statement instead.

The sisters pointed to a decline in enrollment, financial struggles and aging infrastructure as reasons they were closing close the all-girls Catholic school.

School principal and Preston High School graduate Jennifer Connolley rebutted those reasonings.

Connolley said the school already has 393 students enrolled for the 205-2026 school year, which is just shy of their 420-student capacity.

"Not only are the boards' reasons invalid and in part engineered, but they are causing ongoing harms to Preston, especially in recruiting and with vendors," said Connolley.

The Bally's Foundation offered to purchase the school for $8.5 million, with an additional $1.5 million to make repairs.

The offer would only require the school to pay $1 each year in rent. However, the sisters declined that offer, Connolley says, and they were not provided with any transparency as to why that offer was declined.

Bronx Borough president and Majority Leader Amanda Farias said they would support the offer from Bally's.

AG James said while she cannot make any promises, her office will be conducting a full and thorough analysis based of testimony to determine the next steps.