MAPLEWOOD - Staff members at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Elementary School reopened the three-story building June 21 to pack up records and belongings for a final goodbye to parents and students. 

St. Joseph's School, along the 240 block of Franklin Avenue, held its 77th and last graduation ceremony June 18. Its pre-Kindergarten through seventh grade students received their promotions June 11 through15 before being dismissed forever at 12:30 p.m. June 16.

The just-graduated eighth graders, like their predecessors, are to decide on which religious, private or public high school to attend. Archdiocese of Newark spokesman James Goodness said that an open house will be held at St. Joseph's gymnasium over the summer to help the younger students and their parents with transferring to nearby schools.

"We haven't set an open house date with St. Joseph's parish yet," said Goodness June 22. "The school office will be open as needed during the summer to help with the transfers and to store records."

Goodness added that the nearby schools most likely accept transferring students would be St. Joseph's School in East Orange, St. Leo's/Sacred Heart School and Good Shepherd Academy in Irvington, Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange, Pope John XXIII in West Orange or the Hillside Catholic Academy in Union County. Sixth Grade girls may join the Marylawn of the Oranges' new middle school curriculum at its South Orange campus.

Goodness said that the archdiocese's finance office and St. Joseph Pastor Rev. Michael A. Saporito agreed to close the school June 18. A 19-day parent-driven registration drive fell 50 students short of a 155-child goal June 16.

"The school was to have at least 150 children registered and partially paying tuition," said Goodness. "There were 100 that have registered and paid by deadline."

St. Joseph's congregants, reacting to Saporito's May 21 announcement of the June 30 closing, offered a last-ditch drive May 28. The parents were to also sign up another 50 to 60 students who make at least a $300 deposit by July 2. A full-year's tuition cost $4,600 per student.

Goodness cited St. Joseph's recently dwindling enrollment for the closure. The 11 classes of 165 students plus 25 staff members for 2009-2010 would have cost the archdiocese $300,000 for the next school year.

"The students came from all over," said Goodness. "There were those from Maplewood, South Orange, Irvington, East Orange, Newark and Union."

There were 310 students enrolled as recently as 2003. Even that figure is a far cry from the 750 that packed the school in the 1930s-70s.

St. Joseph's School was built in 1930 for $274,916 and graduated its first class in 1933. The school was being built when the once-rural Hilton neighborhood was being transformed by suburban housing development.

The school was also built during the Great Depression. It took 19 years for the 1,500-family parish to pay off the $200,000 mortgage from the Prudential Insurance Company plus three bank notes.

The school was run by the Sisters of the Benedictine Order, whose 1924 convent was next door. The parish and township planning board had recently agreed to rezone the 1954 convent building for condominium residential use.

Goodness said that the convent rezoning was made with the archdiocese's acknowledgement. The current "Family Life Center" building, at the corner of Franklin Avenue and Indiana Street, is being renovated as of June 21.

Goodness added that the parish may continue to use the school building. St. Joseph's holds religious education classes, CYO basketball games and an annual rummage sale therein. An Aug. 2-13 rocketry camp has been scheduled.

A June 22 call to Rev. Saporito's rectory remains unanswered as of deadline.

St. Joseph's worship, outreach and ministry services also continue. Hilton and Union parishioners petitioned the archdiocese to split from St. Leo's in 1914.