Immaculate Conception School / Facebook
Parents in Spotswood, New Jersey, are mounting a last-ditch effort to save their children’s Catholic school from permanent closure, NJ.com recently reported.
With only days left before the school year ends, the Save ICS — Together Foundation is racing to raise $500,000 before the last day of classes ends June 13. Their aim is to cover Immaculate Conception School’s financial deficit and persuade the Diocese of Metuchen to reconsider the closure.
The small pre-K–8 Catholic school, which opened in 1960 and once served more than 500 students, is down to only 39 enrollees for the next academic year. On April 4, Father John J. O’Kane, the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, announced the school would close because operations were unsustainable.
But for many families, giving up isn’t an option.
“From the moment my daughter got there, she absolutely fell in love with the school, and so did my husband and I,” said Kimberly Tinger, a parent and organizer of the fundraising drive.
Tinger told the outlet that a portion of the goal has been raised, but she has not disclosed the amount.
The foundation states on its website that it has “a very small window of time to create a new business model for ICS.”
“It would have to be accompanied by a significant fundraising effort to close the financial gap in the short term as our school rebuilds, as discussed with the Diocese,” the foundation states. “It is going to take a heroic effort for us to raise these funds to support the school’s deficit in the amount of $500,000.”
More than 30 Catholic schools in New Jersey have closed in the past five years, according to NJ.com, underscoring broader challenges facing Catholic education. In addition to ICS, three other New Jersey Catholic schools are set to close this summer.
