St. Joseph School closing one day early

Police presence raises questions from parents Florida — Today was supposed to be the last day of school at St. Joseph School, a day of hugs and tears, goodbyes and thank yous. But it didn’t happen. On Wednesday, parents received a note home saying the last day of school had been moved by the Archdiocese of New York to Thursday, the day of the school’s award ceremony. It came from Rev. Joseph Tokarczyk, the church’s pastor. But no one is saying why. Other Catholic schools in the area had their last day today, including St. Stephen’s in Warwick and St. John’s in Goshen. Calls made by The Warwick Advertiser to Joan Fratello, the St. Joseph School principal, were not accepted. Tokarczyk said he is following the guidelines of the Archdiocese, with whom he is fully cooperating. Some parents, who did not wish to be identified, contacted the newspaper about a surprising police presence at St. Joseph’s last week. “This is an elementary school,” said one. “It is a little disconcerting to see a police officer at your school functions when one was never there before. There are no smoke bombs here. Why was a police officer posted? No letter came home. No explanation was ever given.” An officer was present at the school’s field day, June 13, according to the parents, something they said had never happened before. Village of Florida Police Officer in Charge James Coleman said the officer was there at the request of the principal. No threats had been made. It was just community policing, he said. “We have done it before for St. Joseph’s,” said Coleman. “We do it for many events at all of the schools.” An officer was scheduled to be present on Thursday, the school’s last day of classes as well. “I think she (the principal) just wanted us to make sure nothing got out of control. She didn’t want the media to get the children upset,” said Coleman. “But I’m glad people are noticing our presence in the community.” It has been a rocky road at St. Joseph School recently. Last year, the largest realignment in the history of the New York Archdiocese earmarked St. Joseph for a possible closure. But parents campaigned and convinced the Archdiocese to give them another chance. The school opened again in September and parents waged a marketing campaign in an effort to increase the enrollment. It fell short. In April, the Archdiocese announced St. Joseph School would close for good in June. While parents were readying for the last day of school as well as the last day of school ever at St. Joseph School, Tokarcyk took an upbeat look at the situation. “God closes one door and automatically opens another,” he said.