Corpus Christi to be shut down this June
Enrollment dropped from 380 to 95 students during last 11 years
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

Corpus Christi School

South River's last Catholic school is expected to close for good this year after more than four decades of service.

The Diocese of Metuchen announced last week that Corpus Christi School will close in June due to a lack of funding and low enrollment. The school held a meeting with parents Tuesday to offer guidance on the transition process.

The school's parish, which has 1,300 members, decided to close the K-8 school, according to diocese spokeswoman Joanne Ward.

The school was nearly closed in 2005, but the parish's decision was reversed by the diocese after parents rallied in support of the school and came up with a new plan to boost enrollment and revenue.

"The bishop can override the pastor's decision," Ward said, adding that "it was not the diocese, it was the pastor who determined that the school had to be closed."

Corpus Christi opened on David Street in 1962.

Borough Councilman Raymond Eppinger was critical of the diocese, saying it should have done more to support Corpus Christi and the St. Mary of Ostrabama School, which closed in 2002 after 75 years of service in South River.

"I am very saddened," Eppinger said of the news. "I think that the diocese allowed this slow death to take place over a number of years."

Ward attributed the school's closing to declining enrollment and rising debt for the parish.

The school had approximately 380 students in 1995, Ward said, but by 2005 the school was down to 140 students.

"Rumors over the years that the school is going to close triggered parents to take their kids out of the school," Ward said.

This past September, the school had 106 students enrolled, but the number of students has since dropped to 95.

The school's debt includes $150,000 that the parish borrowed to operate the school last year, Ward said. The total debt may be as high as $450,000 by the end of this school year, she said.

"With declining enrollment and increasing debt, there is no way they can keep the school open," Ward said. "It is a sad situation. It is just unfortunate that it had to be done."

The diocese worked with the parish and monitored the situation at the school, and Ward said parents did everything they could to keep the school going.

"The parents made a valiant effort," she said.

One of those parents is school Principal Michelle Little, whose son Connor, 11, entered the sixth grade at Corpus Christi when she began work there last year. She told the Sentinel that she will miss the school.

"This has been one of the best experiences I have had as an educator and an administrator," Little said.

She was hoping that she would have more time to turn the struggling school around, but finances and enrollment dictated otherwise.

"When people are uncomfortable about the school's security, there is not much you can do," Little said. "Tense moments last year diminished people's faith in the school, but parents worked really hard through fundraisers."

Eppinger graduated from Corpus Christi in 1976, and three of his children, four of his cousins, his brother and his sister also graduated from the school.

Eppinger pulled his youngest child out of the school in the 2005-06 school year, he said, because there were only seven other children in his grade level. His child now attends Sacred Heart School in South Amboy.

"I think it was a slow death [for Corpus Christi]," Eppinger said. "And lack of support from the diocese over the years has a lot to do with what is happening. The parishioners and the parents put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into that facility. It's a great place. This destroys part of the fabric of what makes South River special."

Eppinger said there have been issues with Corpus Christi ever since St. Mary's closed, adding that more could have been done to stabilize the school with three parishes in town.

"Instead of having the diocese step in and do everything they could to make sure that there is a viable Catholic school in South River, they shirked their responsibility and this is the result."

Ellen Ayoub, superintendent of schools for the diocese, said that the meeting held Tuesday was emotional for parents.

"It was very sad," Ayoub said. "These people worked so hard, the pastor tried ... These people put their heart and soul into it."

Little called upon parents and faculty to make the remaining six months a pleasant experience for the children. Ayoub added that parents can choose from several area schools to continue their children's Catholic education.

"Children always hate leaving their friends," Ayoub said, noting that it is a sad time for the community.

Eppinger expressed sympathies for the Rev. John Brundage over the decision he had to make for his parish.

"I can't imagine how hard a decision this was to make for Father John, because of the importance of the parish in the town," Eppinger said. "Just like St. Mary's, it was an integral part of South River for decades."