HAMMONTON — St. Joseph High School supporters plan to hold a rally Sunday as they continue efforts to save the school.
The event will be held at 2 p.m. at the Mount Carmel carnival grounds on Tilton Street.
The St. Joe Strong task force is trying to keep the school open as an independent kindergarten through 12th grade school known as St. Joseph Academy.
The Diocese of Camden announced in April that it would close St. Joe high school and elementary school as of June 30.
HAMMONTON — The survival hopes of St. Joseph High School and Elementary School took another hit Friday night.
The diocese last week rejected a St. Joe Strong plan to keep the schools open. St. Joe Strong said the diocese also rejected its offer to buy the St. Joe elementary school on Third Street and the high school athletic fields on Wood Street.
St. Joe Strong announced Friday it is considering two potential school buildings to house St. Joseph Academy. The group said it has raised nearly $1 million in operating funds.
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“We are confident that our plan, when combined with our human and economic resources, is executable and viable,” the statement said.
St. Joe opened 1935. Its closing would have a major impact on the state high school football scene.
Wildwood Catholic High School in North Wildwood will remain open.
The St. Joe football team is one of New Jersey’s best, with 20 state championships since the state Non-Public playoffs began in 1993. St. Joe coach Paul Sacco has a South Jersey record 335 career wins.
When it announced plans to close St. Joe, the diocese said it had received $1.1 million in loans and had a total debt of $6.6 million. St. Joe had seen its enrollment drop from 331 students in 2015 to 206 this year.
