MAKAWAO, Maui — St. Joseph School will close its kindergarten through fifth-grade campus in May, marking an end to its 65-year history as an elementary school.

But St. Joseph Preschool will continue to operate next year, and the former elementary school campus may be reconfigured into an early-education center.

Principal Beth Fobbe-Wills and St. Joseph Church's pastor, the Rev. Geronimo "Eric" Castro, announced the decision to 45 students and their families in a letter mailed Monday.

"This was a not a decision made lightly nor was it a decision made in haste," Fobbe-Wills and Castro said in the letter. "To put it simply, we have not been able to get enough students consistently in grades K through 5 to make St. Joseph School fiscally sound."

While the news appeared to stun the teaching staff of 10 and a librarian, it could not have been unexpected, Fobbe-Wills said. "The viability of St. Joseph has been an issue for 14 years. It's not a surprise," she said.

Fobbe-Wills said it has not been decided how the school would be reconfigured for the 2010-11 school year, but said an early-education center is a possibility.

St. Joseph School has struggled for years with declining enrollment despite efforts in marketing, the offering of additional programs and support from St. Joseph Church parish. The "magic number" to break even would be 92 students, Fobbe-Wills said. But this year the school has only 45 students. Tuition at the school is $4,600 this year.