By SUZANNE MARINO

Staff Writer

MARGATE – In the three weeks since word came from the Diocese of Camden that it would be closing Blessed Sacrament Regional School at the end of the school year and merging it with St. James School in Ventnor, parents’ emotions have run the gamut from anger to acceptance.

A Dec. 6 meeting in the Blessed Sacrament Church Hall was packed with parents affected by the move who came to discuss their options demonstrated how emotionally invested families are in their school.

But a week later, on Dec. 13, St. James invited parents of Blessed Sacrament students to tour St. James and talk. Parents, teachers, administrators and members of the PTAs of both schools attended. Rev. Joseph Ganiel, pastor of St. James, addressed the group.

So much of what lies down the road for families dedicated to Catholic education is tied to enrollment numbers, Ganiel said.

He discussed tuition and other factors affecting the families. Tuition for next year has not yet been established, making it difficult some families to commit, especially those who have multiple children in the school system.

Lisa McLaughlin, the parent of a sixth-grader at BSRS who is on the transition committee formed to help facilitate the change, said Ganiel told the group that he expected tuition to be closer to $3,200 per student and not the $4,000 to $4,500 figure that some had heard tossed about. Currently tuition at BSRS is $2,800 with raffle participation.

“We need for all of our families to register their children,” McLaughlin said after the meeting. “As a parent I left with a better feeling now that we are starting to get answers.”

Open enrollment begins Jan. 2 and runs through the end of February.

“There is a $100 nonrefundable registration fee, and though some families might be reluctant to register in case they decide not to send their kids, the PTA is making arrangements to aid those families so that everyone registers,” she said. “We need to keep the kids together.”

Ganiel said that the diocese recommendation for class size is that any class with more than 30 enrolled would be split in two. If the enrollment is there, the diocese has told him that bringing in modular classrooms is a possibility, he said.

McLaughlin said the pastor explained that each modular unit contains two full classrooms. If additional classroom space is necessary, the cost would be borne by the four sending parishes – Blessed Sacrament, St. Bernadette’s, Epiphany and St. James.

McLaughlin said she was pleasantly surprised when she toured St. James.

“It still had a homey feel,” she said.

“The building is old, but it has fresh paint. It was not as bad as many of us feared that it would be,” McLaughlin said.

But she said parents of BSRS students are still looking into ways to save their school. “We are setting up backup plans to make sure that we can keep the kids together and doing what is best for them,” she said.