October 20, 2016

Dear members of the St. Joseph Central High School community,

I am writing you today as a group so as to provide some answers and comments on the concerns which have been
raised regarding the decision to close St. Joseph Central High School.
Having been involved in my priesthood with other school closings, I know how painful and sad they can be. The
natural urge is to place blame on someone or something for the closing but I would urge a more comprehensive,
respectful and accurate consideration of this situation.
As has been stated repeatedly, the decision to close St Joseph was only reached after every reasonable avenue had been
pursued by the dedicated team at the school and its equally dedicated board. They worked on the problems facing
this beloved school for many years and clearly understood the challenges we faced.
As many of you know, the state of the economy in western Massachusetts and specifically in Berkshire County is
challenged. This has had a twofold impact on all our schools, fewer jobs resulting in fewer families. And of those
who remain even fewer are able to afford a Catholic education. Meanwhile the loss of industries also resulted in a
greater difficulty in fundraising efforts.
Add to this that the combined total enrollment of current 8th graders in our three Berkshire feeder Catholic schools
is only 38 and that the facility at St. Joseph is in need a major renovations and infrastructure work currently
estimated at over a million dollars.
Operationally the staff and faculty have done a tremendous job in providing a quality secondary education on a tight
budget, but the continued decline in enrollment made this an even greater challenge threatening the academic
program. As anyone who has balanced a household budget knows, you can only spread your finances so far. The gap
here was in the millions of dollars, that in addition to the $4.5 million the diocese has subsidized the school over the
last 5 years, financial resources which have now been exhausted.
To be fair, the problems we faced were not as publicly discussed as some parents would have preferred. That is
because we remained hopeful for a turnaround and didnt want to undermine the efforts of the school with any dire
predictions. This was not done as an act of dishonesty rather it was one of hopefulness.
Once the loss of international students was known, the operation of St. Joseph High School was no longer tenable.
The decision was made to close the school at the conclusion of the current school year and it was decided to make the
announcement sooner so we could explore other options for our students and parents, who would then have time to
plan accordingly.
Ultimately, and with tremendous regret, I trust that every option was explored and that the difficult decision we
reached was necessary.
Prayerfully yours,

(Most Rev.) Mitchell T. Rozanski

Bishop of Springfield