Bishop Guilfoyle School to close

Burdened by heavy enrollment losses and mounting financial pressures, Bishop Guilfoyle Regional Catholic School in Carneys Point will close at the end of the current school year.

School faculty and families were informed of the decision in a January 19 letter from Kathryn Chesnut, principal, and the pastors of the sponsoring parishes.

Six parishes sponsor the regional school: Corpus Christi (Carneys Point), St. James (Penns Grove), St. Joseph (Swedesboro), Queen of the Apostles (Pennsville), St. Mary (Salem) and St. Joseph (Woodstown).

Bishop Guilfoyle Regional Catholic School was formed in September 2000 from the merger of St. Mary School in Salem, St. Joseph’s in Swedesboro and St. James in Penns Grove. The schools had struggled with enrollment difficulties due to long-term population declines in the region before the decision to combine them at the site of the former Saint James High School.

Yet, enrollment difficulties persisted even after the merger. Enrollment fell from 373 students in 2001-02 to just 111 this year. The fall in enrollment has resulted in rising deficits for the school, $400,000 this year alone, threatening to deplete the resources of the sponsoring parishes.

“After having convened the pastors of the sponsoring parishes, having met with Bishop Galante and his school advisors last fall and earlier this month, and having carefully weighed the current data and the prospects for turning around these critical variables, it is clear that we will be unable to keep the school open beyond this current school year,” said the letter.

To ease the transition for students, a $1,000 per student tuition voucher will be provided to each family that may be applied toward tuition at another Catholic school chosen by the family for the 2010-2011 school year. Tuition assistance for families already granted at Bishop Guilfoyle Regional Catholic School for the 2010-2011 school year also will be honored at another Catholic school chosen by the family.

The Catholic Schools Office of the diocese also will work to place as many teachers from Bishop Guilfoyle Regional Catholic School as possible and, for those that cannot be placed, an assistance package will be offered to help them during the transition to new employment.