Holy Cross High School To Close, May Become Independent School

DELRAN, NJ — Holy Cross High School in Delran will close its doors at the end of this school year after 60 years of operation, but one group has a plan to reopen it shortly thereafter. Despite the fact that the diocesan high school that provides Catholic education to families in Burlington County and beyond has seen significant growth, that growth was followed by hard times. At one point, the school’s enrollment was so high, it built an expansion. However, the school has more recently experienced serious decline in both its enrollment and its ability to sustain itself financially.

“Over the past 20-plus years, the Diocese of Trenton has provided $13.8 million in subsidies to Holy Cross High School/Academy, including more than $500,000 for the last school year to cover shortfalls in operating expenses brought about by low enrollment numbers,” the school said in a statement this week. “Efforts to build enrollment and strengthen the school’s financial footing over the past several years have not been sufficiently impactful, and neither the Diocese nor the school itself has the means to keep the school operating for any extended period of time.”

All this has lead Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. to announce that the school will close on June 30, 2018. However, the school further said that a group of alumni is looking to reopen the school as an independent Catholic school the following day. Carroll has offered the Diocese’s cooperation in helping the group reopen the school on July 1, 2018, the school said.

The new school would be known as “Holy Cross Academy,” according to the Burlington County Times. Holy Cross alumni Steve Paolini, Dennis Murawski, Rich Suter and Peter Sciortino have been working with the current administration to open the new school for about three months. There would be no increase in tuition, which is currently listed at $11,600.

In the statement, O’Connell expressed his heart-felt appreciation to Principal Dennis Guida, the faculty, staff and priest chaplains for all they have done for the school and the students over the years; and all the families who have made a real commitment to Catholic education by sending their children to Holy Cross over the last six decades.

It concluded: “May God bless everyone in the Holy Cross community as we transition to a new chapter in Catholic education for Burlington County.”

Image via Shutterstock