SOUTH AMBOY — Mater Dei Preparatory School in Middletown will open its doors for students of Cardinal Mc- Carrick/St. Mary’s High School (CMHS), which is closing this month.
“We understand all too well the devastation this community is feeling right now,” said Randy MacDonald, chairman of the Mater Dei board of trustees, adding that board members were saddened to hear of the Diocese of Metuchen’s decision to close CMHS.
“Many Cardinal McCarrick families reached out to Mater Dei Prep for empathy and help,” he said.
Two information sessions were held at Mater Dei for CMHS students and parents, and MacDonald said school officials would continue to offer their assistance as the families explore education options for the upcoming school year.
Parents and guardians of students at CMHS heard the news about the closing on May 19. The high school has been an academic institution for 125 years.
On May 20, the Diocese of Metuchen officially announced that CMHS would not reopen in the fall.
The final CMHS senior class graduated on May 30.
Current and incoming students have the option to attend Bishop George Ahr High School (BGA) in Edison, also a diocesan school.
At one time, Cardinal McCarrick had an enrollment of close to 500 students; however, only 210 students were registered for the 2015-16 academic year, which the diocese said was not enough to keep the high school open.
The Diocese of Metuchen, which oversees the administration of the school, cited a number of factors that influenced the decision to close the school, including diminishing enrollment, ongoing need for capital improvements and changing demographics, resulting in fewer area families choosing to send their children to the high school.
There also is a growing need for new technology and other academic advances.
All of these factors have resulted in a continually growing subsidy amounting to about $1.8 million annually that the diocese is unable to sustain.
According to diocesan officials, over the past five years alone, the diocese has invested over $7.3 million in operating CMHS.
In February, Mater Dei Prep faced a similar fate after the Diocese of Trenton announced the school would close in June due to a $1 million deficit.
However, after an aggressive fundraising effort led by alumni, Mater Dei Prep met the goal of raising $1 million and is currently set to transition to a private Catholic high school when the new academic year begins in September.
Alumni — led by 1976 graduate Jim Shaw — formed a nonprofit, the Seraph’s Fund, to raise the needed $1 million through fundraisers and direct donations by the April 15 deadline.
The Seraph’s Fund will continue for Mater Dei through its #SeraphStrong campaign, which will allow the school to provide more scholarships and undertake capital improvements.
The Diocese of Trenton announced in April that the school would close in June as a parish high school and would reopen in September as a nonprofit organization that would have an independent board of trustees to be the financial and operational stewards over the school.
Mater Dei Prep will remain on the St. Mary of God Parish campus on Cherry Tree Farm Road in Middletown.