Daily Journal
St. Francis to close, merge with Sacred Heart
From staff reports
Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770206013
VINELAND: The elementary schools at St. Francis of Assisi and Sacred Heart churches will merge, and the combined school will be housed at Sacred Heart's building on Landis Avenue, the Diocese of Camden announced Tuesday.
St. Francis of Assisi's school on Chestnut Avenue, which opened in 1963, will close at the end of the school year.
Immaculate Conception Regional School in Bridgeton will also close in June. The three other Catholic elementary schools in the area &emdash; St. Mary Regional in Vineland, St. Mary Magdelen in Millville and Notre Dame Regional in Landisville and Newfield &emdash; will not be affected.
Bishop Joseph Galante made the announcements during a briefing in Camden this afternoon. To view his written remarks, go to www.camdendiocese.org.
Galante took into consideration the recommendations made by school planning committees made up of clergy, parents and school principals.
The diocese is studying all 52 of its Catholic elementary schools in South Jersey to determine whether some should close due to declining enrollment and increased operating costs.