Wildwood Catholic and Cape Trinity to Permanently Close

WILDWOOD — The Diocese of Camden announced April 17 that Wildwood Catholic High School and Cape Trinity Catholic School will close for good at the end of this school year, according to a release.
With the schools closed now, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it seems unlikely they will ever open their doors for a school day again. 
In a statement, the Diocese announced three other schools would close as well, effective the end of the current school term on June 30. 
Good Shepherd Regional Elementary School in Collingswood, Saint Joseph Regional Elementary School in Hammonton and Saint Joseph High School in Hammonton will all meet the same fate as the two Wildwood schools. 
The decision to close the schools is difficult, the Diocese of Camden said in a statement.  Years of dwindling community support in the form of declining student enrollment and local fundraising, despite significant diocesan and parish financial support, has necessitated this decision, according to the Diocese of Camden. 
The administrations, faculties, families and donors who have supported these schools should be commended for their efforts to keep these schools open and accessible. However, the decreasing priority given to Catholic education by many parents, including Catholic parents, ultimately weakened the viability of these schools, the statement read. 
Over the last five years, each school has seen a precipitous drop in registrations despite the best efforts of the school administrators to implement new enrollment and academic initiatives and continue their traditions of excellence in education while providing a home where the Catholic faith can be taught, learned, and lived, said the press release. 

*WCHS/CTC is a shared physical entity; while the more significant drop is affecting WCHS, it is the determination of both administrations that the closure of either school renders the other school non-viable.
Over the same time period, these three elementary schools have received a combined $3.8 million in financial support from the diocese and/or local parishes to sustain operations while keeping tuition as affordable as possible, according to the release.
Wildwood Catholic High School has received nearly $750,000 in support, said the Diocese. 
Unfortunately, the continued loss of enrollment over that time has strained these schools’ finances to the point that even substantial diocesan and parish support can no longer meet the regular operational expenses of the schools, the statement explained. 
Finally, compounding the already existing financial and enrollment issues at these schools is the expectation that they will suffer further negative impacts due to the economic realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated business shutdowns and personnel layoffs that have been felt throughout the region, said the statement. 
The decision to close these schools is sobering and painful, the Diocese said. It has not been made lightly, they explained.
The Diocese said the decision was made with great deliberation, including insight from regional pastors, school advisory boards, the College of Consultors, the Diocesan Finance Council, the Office of Catholic Schools and the Diocesan Finance Office.
“Closing a Catholic school is gut-wrenching for everyone involved, from the principal and pastor to the superintendent and bishop. However, as stewards of the financial resources entrusted to us, we came to the difficult conclusion that low enrollment at these schools caused the strain on the funds available to become too great,” Dr. Bill Watson, superintendent of schools, stated.
“I am deeply grateful to the faculty and staff who have given so much to these schools and to the dedicated parents who have continued to send their children to them. We look forward to welcoming these families into another Catholic school community next year,” he added, in a statement.