LEXINGTON, Mo. (AP) – Administrators say a 137-year-old Missouri military academy and college will close after next month because of declining enrollment, rising costs and aging facilities.

Wentworth Military Academy and College’s board chairman and president announced the closure, effective May 31, in letters Friday to cadets, students, parents and alumni. The letter to alumni says the site in Lexington about 50 miles east of Kansas City will pay its debts and liquidate its assets as part of “an orderly closure.”

Among Wentworth’s alumni are the late Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton, Wal-Mart co-founder James “Bud” Walton, and “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” host Marlin Perkins.