Our Lady of Victories School in Sayreville to close due to low enrollment

SAYREVILLE – Our Lady of Victories School, which serves students in pre-K through eighth grade in the Diocese of Metuchen and opened in 1889 in the church basement, will close after this school year.

In a letter sent to parents, the Rev. Dennis Weezorak, financial administrator for the school and parish, said enrollment at the school has been in a steady decline for over 10 years.

"When we last spoke, 77 students were enrolled in the school, a number that has now dropped to 66 students with only 10 of those students having reenrolled for next year," he said.

During this same period, three fundraising events have raised $16,960, "which does little to offset the cost of our day-to-day operating budget," Weezorak said.

Although the school, located at 36 Main St, is closing, the parish is remaining open, according to the diocese.

"The closure of any Catholic school is disheartening and painful, particularly when the school, like Our Lady of Victories in Sayreville, has a long and proud history of Catholic education," Anthony P. Kearns III, spokesperson and chancellor of the Diocese of Metuchen, said in an email. "While certainly a difficult decision to make, these types of decisions are made only as a last resort, when there is simply not enough children enrolled to operate the school.

"We commend the whole school community for all their efforts in making Our Lady of Victories School such a good place for the students to flourish and likewise, commend the parish community along with the school parents who have sacrificed greatly to keep the school open.”

According to its website, when Our Lady of Victories School opened in 1889 it was staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in 1894 to assume the role of educators, the website says.

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In 1930 a new eight-room school was built on the church property, and in the late 1950s an additional six rooms were added to the original structure. A parish center, which was later renamed Msgr. Dalton Hall after one of the parish's beloved pastors, was also added to the campus. Due to increased enrollment at this time, there was a need for two classrooms of every grade.

During the 1980s, the first lay principal was appointed, and lay teachers have assumed all the educational roles.  A pre-K was added to the school offerings in the 1990s, according to the website.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. 

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Our Lady of Victories School in Sayreville NJ to close