CAMDEN (February 6, 2007) — Emphasizing the need to strengthen and revitalize Catholic school education in South Jersey, Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante, Bishop of Camden, announced a reconfiguration of schools in the first four of 12 school planning clusters, which consist of 17 of the 52 Catholic elementary schools in the diocese.
Citing declining enrollments, fiscal deficits and an over-reliance on parish subsidies, and following a process of consultation with school steering committees, Bishop Galante announced that it would be necessary for two schools to close and for four schools to consolidate with neighboring schools effective with the start of the 2007-2008 school year.
Immaculate Conception (Bridgeton), which has 106 students currently enrolled, and St. Nicholas (Egg Harbor), which has 114 students currently enrolled, will close in June. St. Matthew (National Park) with 117 students, St. Patrick (Woodbury) with 189 students, and Most Holy Redeemer (Westville Grove) with 175 students will consolidate into a newly-named regional school at the Westville Grove location. St. Francis of Assisi (Vineland), which currently has 151 students, will consolidate with Sacred Heart (Vineland), which has 310 students, at Sacred Heart. In addition, St. Raymond (Villas), which currently has 104 students enrolled, will consolidate with Our Lady Star of the Sea (Cape May) at Our Lady Star of the Sea, which has 157 students currently enrolled. Bishop Galante met with pastors and principals this morning 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 to parents earlier today.
Bishop Galante acknowledged that the decisions would cause great sadness, even anger, and a sense of loss. “These are such difficult decisions, for me to make as the Bishop of this diocese, and for everyone involved, but most especially for our school families, students, faculty, school staffs and graduates, all of whom love their schools and who have labored over many decades to develop and sustain the strongest possible school communities.”
But, he said, the closing and consolidation decisions, however, painful, were necessary at this time “in the interest of the common good, and with the objective of strengthening Catholic school education for the entire diocese.” He said, “The time to act—and to act decisively—is now.”
He said that every effort would be made by the diocese to assist every student affected by the reconfiguration in enrolling in the new consolidated schools or in other Catholic schools. Busing arrangements and information regarding the registration process for the schools affected by the reconfiguration will be announced in the coming weeks, he said.
The diocese, the Bishop said, also is planning a day of reflection in mid-February to help families cope with the decisions. 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 236 full time and 99 part time teachers in the four clusters and 434 full time and 124 part-time teachers in the remaining eight. The decisions follow a four-month process of consultation with school planning committees.
Steering committees from the four clusters reviewed data this past fall in order to develop recommendations on how to strengthen and best provide Catholic school education in each cluster. They reviewed demographic information, school financial reports, enrollment trends, facilities and the religious and academic programs of the schools in the cluster. These clusters submitted their recommendations to Bishop Galante last month for his review before he made the decisions announced today.
Bishop Galante thanked the steering committees “for their hard work, insight and dedication during this important process of consultation,” but also acknowledged that, in some cases, the reconfigurations went even further than planning committees suggested. “In some cases, the decisions I have made go further than the recommendations made by our school steering committees. I have carefully considered the committee recommendations but ultimately had to consider whether they adequately address the demographic, enrollment, financial and other realities in the clusters, whether the recommendations present long-term solutions to the challenges facing Catholic school education in the cluster, and whether the recommendations are likely to meet the needs of school families in each cluster area.”
The eight remaining clusters, which consist of 35 schools, are just now beginning their planning process and will submit their recommendations to Bishop Galante for review in June 2007. Once decisions are reached on these eight clusters, these plans will be implemented by September 2008. Bishop cautioned that it was too early to draw conclusions about future decisions that would impact the remaining clusters.
“I also emphasize that our planning process for the remaining eight clusters of schools and all of our parishes is now just getting underway. We do not yet know the outcomes, but we trust the process we have in place to provide us with important input that will allow us to make informed decisions that will be best for the Catholic people of South Jersey.” He also suggested that the outcomes from the remaining school clusters would involve more than consolidation. Citing the construction of a new church and school in Pomona, he said, “In some areas of the diocese, where there is new growth and where facilities are lacking, this may mean the need for the expansion of existing facilities or the creation of new facilities.”
Last month, the Bishop announced that the planning initiative would include a new model for Catholic schools, which would include a new funding program that will be introduced over a three-year period beginning in 2009-2010. It will replace parish subsidies to schools with cost-based tuition and needs-based tuition assistance, with the tuition assistance fund supported by parishes. In addition to uniform tuition rates, the schools will adopt a policy of open enrollment. In addition, the bishop announced that facilities and curriculum will be enhanced, and faculty compensation improved. He said the new model also will provide for increased levels of marketing and institutional advancement and an increased role of the laity in decision-making for the schools. As he announced the decisions today, he said, “Guiding us through all this is our Diocesan Vision statement that was promulgated last year. In our planning, we are striving to grow ever more into dynamic communities of faith, hope and love, wherein we reveal the mind and heart of Jesus through our actions and worship. As we embark on this challenging and exciting journey, I firmly believe that we will, with God’s grace, grow, adapt, and experience new life.”