By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer

MARGATE – Parents and prospective Holy Family School families will have a chance to question representatives from the Camden Diocese about the planned merger of St. James and Blessed Sacrament Regional School Monday, Feb 4 in the auditorium of St. James School in Ventnor.

Parents have been sending questions in advance of the meeting so that Tom Ardecki, the diocese budget director, will have a pulse of the families’ concerns when he addresses them at the meeting.

Ardecki is expected to answer questions about tuition, teaching staff, technology and facilities. A recent inspection by engineer Michael Toy, who is the parent of a student at Blessed Sacrament, brought some deficiencies at St. James to light and spawned more concerns. He also reviewed annual inspections from MDG Environmental of Maple Shade and found that reports dating back to February 2005, noting that damaged asbestos tiles in the convent, boiler room and crawl space needed patching or removal.

Toy found the lavatory facilities to be smaller than the state recommends for a school of 225 students, adding that more sinks are required in both the boys’ and the girls’ rooms. He noted radiator covers that were missing in the upper grades and retrofitted electrical panels that he felt needed attention.

Some of the letters that parents have sent to Camden question whether the technology at Blessed Sacrament – where there are computers and the smart boards in every classroom – will be used in the new Holy Family School.

Families are being asked to register their children for the 2008-2009 school year at Holy Family through Feb. 15. But some parents want more information before they make a commitment. 

The meeting is set for 6 to 9 p.m. in the auditorium of St. James on Ventnor Avenue.