KEYPORT — A proposal to combine three Bayshore Catholic schools into one has been rejected by the Diocese of Trenton.

According to Rayanne Bennett, chief communications officer for the diocese, Bishop John M. Smith has rejected the latest proposal put forth by a group of school supporters.

"The diocese will not consider a lease request from a parent or community group on speculation that it will be establishing a private school," Bennett said. "The bishop would need all of the necessary credentials and a fully developed plan in place before it could be considered."

This decision follows a Feb. 5 decision in which the bishop reaffirmed the closure of St. Joseph School in Keyport and two other Bayshore Catholic schools, St. Ann School in Keansburg and Holy Family School in Hazlet, at the end of the current school year as a result of declining enrollment.

Alumni of the three Catholic elementary schools proposed a plan to keep at least one of the schools open by combining the three into one viable school based at St. Joseph.

The group of parents and alumni from the three schools known as the Bayshore Catholic Alliance sent a proposal to the diocese calling for the establishment of a private school.

"A question had been submitted to the bishop via letter regarding the possibility of leasing the school building for the purpose of opening an independent school," Bennett said. "The diocese is always open to considering the possibility of leasing available property to established, licensed and/or accredited entities."

She said that the bishop will continue to stand behind his decision.

"He heard the appeal, considered the information presented and reaffirmed his original decision," Bennett said. "He intends to stand by that decision and will not entertain any additional requests for reconsideration."

The decision to close St. Joseph and the two other Bayshore schools was announced by Smith in a meeting with representatives of the schools on Jan. 23.

All three schools, each of which has lost more than half of its enrollment since 2001, were studied earlier in the school year by school representatives, who were charged with looking for alternative configurations to address declining enrollment and economic difficulties the parishes and schools in the area were experiencing, according to a press release from the diocese. Proposals resulting from that study were not found to be viable by the Diocesan Educational Advisory Commission in December.

The closings will affect a combined total of 386 students. Mother Teresa Regional, as well as two parish schools — St. Benedict in Holmdel and St. Mary in New Monmouth — all stand committed to welcoming the students from the closing schools, Dr. Judith A. Caviston, diocesan secretary for education, stated in a letter sent to parents Jan. 23.

The school with the most available spaces is Mother Teresa Regional in Atlantic Highlands, and the diocese will give Holy Family, St. Joseph and St. Ann families who choose the regional school assistance with transportation and some of the tuition costs, the press release states.

The diocese is also assisting the three closing schools to put together severance packages for the 60 faculty members who will be displaced.

In addition to the severance packages, Bishop Smith has asked that pastors and principals around the diocese forward information about any anticipated openings so that it may be shared with faculty of the three schools.

St. Joseph, St. Ann and Holy Family were identified as "under-enrolled" and were recommended to be placed on a watch list, in need of marketing and development.

Despite attempts by the schools to expand marketing efforts and retain students, enrollment continued to drop, according to the diocese, which said the negative trends were largely attributed to the regional economic downturn.

The Diocese of Trenton encompasses 113 parishes serving more than 800,000 Catholics in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.

There are currently 40 parish, diocesan or regional Catholic elementary schools in the diocese, with an enrollment of more than 13,000 students. Another 5,000 students attend one of eight parish or diocesan Catholic high schools.