Bishop
Francis Essex Catholic Regional High School to Close in June For some 46 years under the guidance and direction of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, Bishop Francis Essex Catholic Regional High School (originally called Essex Catholic High School) has provided quality Catholic education to some 5,000 young men from Newark and the surrounding Essex County communities. However, the school has been facing continuing serious economic difficulties for close to a decade. Despite the best efforts of dedicated staff and volunteers who have served on the school’s board of advisors, enrollment at Bishop Francis Essex Catholic has continued to decline while the necessary costs of providing a quality education have risen. Between 1996 and 2003, enrollment at Bishop Francis Essex Catholic has fallen from 411 to 273, and actual registrations to date for the 2003-2004 school year indicate only 102 students committed to attend this coming September. In the past ten years, the Archdiocese has provided more than $5 million in direct operational support to the school to ensure that obligations such as payroll, benefits programs and accounts payable for school supplies and utilities were met. However, the Archdiocese cannot provide future funding to address annual shortfalls at the school without seriously affecting other ministries. In a letter to members of Bishop Francis Essex Catholic’s board of advisors, The Most Reverend Arthur J. Serratelli, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese, stated that it was with “deep regret and profound sorrow that we reach the conclusion that Bishop Francis Essex Catholic Regional High School will cease operation…This conclusion was reached after careful consideration of the confluence of factors impacting the school, the requirements of balancing archdiocesan needs and limited resources, and the historical realities.” In a letter to parents of current students, Br. Howard McKenzie, CFC, principal of Bishop Francis Essex Catholic, stated, “The closure of a school is not an easy experience for anyone concerned. However, an understanding on your part of the heroic efforts that have been made and will continue to be made on behalf of your sons will make the experience easier for them and for us to handle.” He further stated, “We believe, in fairness to your sons and our students, that they would be better served in continuing their education in other Catholic schools with larger populations and, therefore, greater financial resources or, should you choose, in other private or public schools.” In the weeks ahead, school administration will work with parents of current students and parents of students who had enrolled as freshmen to assist with the transition to other schools. A process already exists to assist teachers who wish to continue teaching in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. Essex Catholic High School was renamed Bishop Francis Essex Catholic High School in 1998 in honor of Bishop Joseph A. Francis, SVD, auxiliary bishop of Newark and the first African-American bishop of the Newark Archdiocese.
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