Save St. Mary’s, Say Parents
A group of parents from St. Mary Catholic School in Ocean Township are working hard to convince the Diocese of Trenton to keep the school open.
We are not going to take it laying down, said Doris Klimowicz, co-president of the school PTA and a local leader in the dioceses Monmouth County Task Force, which has recommended the closing.
The diocese said it is considering closing the school along with Holy Trinity School in Long Branch due to declining enrollment.
At press time Klimowicz said parents were meeting to put together proposals for alternatives to closing the school. She said the school is at 81 percent capacity. Enrollment is down 41 percent.
We are not saying we are better than all other schools, but if we close, this could potentially be a big loss for the Catholic church, Klimowicz said.
She said parents like the small classes offered at the school and certain test scores bear out that fact.
We are hoping to find out if other Catholic schools would be willing to send their children to our school, she said. We want the children to be provided with our level of education and our setting. This is a beautiful campus. There are no bars on our school. Its like a college campus. Its a park-like setting where children can learn without outside noise. The parents can be at ease and the children would be at ease.
Klimowicz also noted that the school, off Wickapecko Drive, has a free-standing science building installed several years ago.
The Diocese of Trenton task force recommended that St. Ann School, Keansburg, and Holy Family School, Hazlet Township merge into a new school at one campus at Holy Famiy.
Other recommendations include merging Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Highlands, and St. Anges School, Atlantic Highlands, into a new school at one campus at St. Agnes Parish.
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