St. Augustine School, Ocean City, to Close Next June

CAMDEN — Emphasizing the need to strengthen and revitalize Catholic school education in South Jersey, Most Rev. Joseph A. Galante, Bishop of Camden, on Nov. 29 announced a reconfiguration of schools in nine clusters representing 35 elementary schools in the diocese.
St. Augustine, Ocean City, which has 112 students currently enrolled, will close in June, 2008. It is the only Cape May County school affected. St. Raymond Regional School closed earlier this year, its pupils reassigned to Our Lady Star of the Sea, Cape May.
Citing declining enrollments, fiscal deficits and an over-reliance on parish subsidies, and following a process of consultation with school steering committees, Galante announced that it would be necessary for one elementary school to close and for eight schools to consolidate with neighboring schools effective with the start of the 2008-2009 school year.
Decisions regarding 17 other schools in four clusters were announced last February. That reconfiguration resulted in a net reduction of five schools effective with the start of the 2007-08 school year. The decisions announced today will result in a net reduction of nine elementary schools in the diocese, from 47 to 38:
Holy Saviour Regional School (Westmont) with 164 students and St. John School (Collingswood) with 157 students will consolidate into a newly-named school at the Collingswood location.
Queen of Heaven (Cherry Hill) with 125 students and St. Peter Celestine (Cherry Hill) with 252 students will consolidate into a newly-named school at the St. Peter location.
Annunciation (Bellmawr) with 123 students and St. Francis de Sales (Barrington) with 209 students will consolidate into a newly-named school at the Barrington location.
Our Lady of Grace/Holy Rosary Regional School (Somerdale) with 123 students, St. Lawrence (Lindenwold) with 163 students and St. Luke (Stratford) with 169 students will consolidate into a newly-named school at the Stratford location.
St. Agnes (Blackwood) with 205 students and St. Jude (Blackwood) with 438 students will consolidate into a newly-named school. Both facilities will continue to be used for two to three years until the facility at St. Jude’s can be expanded to accommodate the consolidated school.
St. Bridget (Glassboro) with 216 students and St. Catherine of Siena (Clayton) with 172 students will consolidate into a newly-named school at the Clayton location. Enrollment at the consolidated school will determine the need for future expansion of the school.
Blessed Sacrament (Margate) with 193 students and St. James (Ventnor) with 124 students will consolidate into a newly-named school at the Ventnor location.
The five urban schools in and around Camden city-St. Cecilia (Pennsauken), Sacred Heart, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral and Holy Name in Camden-will remain open for the 2008-09 school year. The Cluster intends to create a consortium of schools to serve the needs of a population which struggles to meet even basic costs of living.
The decisions follow a nine month process of consultation with school steering committees from the nine school clusters. The committees reviewed demographic information, school financial reports, enrollment trends, facilities and the religious and academic programs of the schools in the cluster in order to develop recommendations on how to strengthen the schools. The committees made their final recommendations to the diocese earlier this month.
In almost every case, Galante accepted the recommendations made by the cluster steering committees. He thanked them for their courage in recommending creative approaches to strengthening Catholic schools. “The task was not an easy one, for planners were asked not to plan in isolation but together with other schools. They were asked not to save individual schools at all costs, but to do what is best for the common good and for the good of Catholic school education in each area of the diocese.”
Galante emphasized that the decisions were necessary. “[W]e do not change for the sake of change, but for a better tomorrow. We change because we believe in Catholic schools. We change for the benefit of our children. We change for the sake of stronger, more vibrant schools that are fundamental to the Church’s mission in today’s time and place. We do this, and we do it now, because we must.”
He also acknowledged that the decisions would be difficult for the school communities. “Some may ask whether all this is necessary. Some may say that if the diocese were truly supportive of Catholic schools, we’d find a way to keep them all open as presently configured.
However, to have allowed the status quo to continue unchallenged would have been a lost opportunity and a failure of leadership; to have allowed the status quo to continue would have left weaker, not stronger schools; to have allowed the status quo to continue would have undermined the quality of our school programs and jeopardized the education of our children; to have allowed the status quo to continue would have financially crushed struggling parishes, depriving men, women and children of the pastoral care they need to grow in the faith.”
Galante met with pastors and principals earlier today to inform them of the decisions.
Parents were notified of the decisions in letters from the Superintendent of Schools, Sr. Dawn Gear, that were sent home earlier today.
For students affected by the reconfigurations, Bishop Galante said that every effort would be made by the diocese to help them enroll in the new consolidated schools or in other Catholic schools. Information regarding the registration process for the schools affected by the reconfiguration will be announced in the coming months, he said.
Bishop Galante also said that the diocese would work to assist teachers in finding positions in the diocese. For those the diocese cannot place, Bishop said the diocese would offer an assistance package to aid teachers during their transition to new employment. There are 434 full time and 124 part-time teachers in the nine clusters.
The Bishop also noted that the planning initiative, “Faith in the Future,” involves more than school reconfiguration.
As part of this initiative, he said a new funding model will be introduced in the years ahead to bring our schools greater fiscal health, while keeping tuition affordable for families who wish to choose Catholic schools for their children. Schools also will work to enhance curriculum and facilities, and faculty compensation will be improved. The initiative also will provide for increased levels of marketing and institutional advancement, as well as an increased role of the laity in decision-making for these schools.
“This process was given the name “Faith in the Future” in recognition of how important Catholic Schools are to the total formation of our young people, the confidence we have in the long-term viability of these schools, and our optimism in the future of our Church,” he said.
The 47 elementary schools in the diocese serve 10,883 students. Two additional elementary schools, San Miguel (Camden) and St. Nicholas Academy (Egg Harbor Twp.) are privately run and are not affiliated with the diocese or its parishes.