Catholic Schools reeling in Cape May County

Catholic Schools reeling in Cape May County

January 6th, 2010

Just one day after school officials called rumors of Wildwood Catholic High School's closing unfounded, the Diocese of Camden announced that the school will close at the end of the school year this June. It's just the latest round in the demise of the Catholic church in Cape May County.

In 2007, St. Raymond's elementary/junior high school in the Villas section of Lower Township was closed by the Diocese of Camden, which oversees the Catholic goings-on in southern New Jersey. Students, parents, and teachers were saddened, outraged, and in shock. Students were offered the chance to transfer to Star of the Sea in Cape May or St. Ann's in Wildwood.

Then in 2008 the Diocese announced the closing of Star of the Sea elementary/junior high school, merging it with St. Ann's elementary/junior high school. That didn't sit well with Star of the Sea parents, who didn't like the prospect of their kids be bussed to lowly Wildwood, a decidedly less affluent community. The parents are still fighting the closing, recently taking out ads on the radio to drum up support for keeping Star of the Sea open. Tuition at the school is around $3,500 for Catholic kids and a thousand dollars more for non-Catholics.

The diocese also previously announced the closing of the Assumption church in upscale Wildwood Crest, offering just summer services when tourists are in town. Parishioners picketed and instituted a letter writing campaign to keep their church, which is self-supporting and not losing money, from merging with St. Ann's. The move by the Diocese was part of a plan to merge 14 Cape may County parishes into eight.

With all these closings happening, the biggest shock is the demise of Wildwood Catholic High School, an institution on the island since 1948. The North Wildwood school boasts state titles in soccer and basketball, and their rivalries with Wildwood High School and other county high schools are legendary. In the 1990's, the school's enrollment increased from 250 to 374 students. A $1.5 million addition was built onto the school to handle the increase.

But in these tough economic times, with tuition at the Catholic high school running about $6,000 per student, many parents balked at sending their kids there. And yes, religion is less common in families than in previous times. Enrollment is now down to 194 at Wildwood Catholic High. The school will lose a half million dollars this year, with expected red ink of $900,000 next year if they stayed open.

Catholic parents of high schoolers will now have several options of where to send their kids next year. To stay parochial, the options are Holy Spirit High School in Absecon (35 miles), St. Augustine in Richland (45 miles), or St. Joseph in Hammonton (52 miles). Locally, the students can attend their home public high schools which are Wildwood HS, Lower Cape May Regional HS, Middle Township HS, Ocean City HS, or Cape May Technical HS.

Unlike St. Raymond's, which now sits unused and gathering dust, Wildwood Catholic will not be mothballed. The school will become the new home of the St. Ann and Star of the Sea merger and used for church activities, offices, and ministry. It presumably will be called Cape Trinity Catholic School.

- Mountain Man and City Girl

http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com