Hundreds gathered in Jackson Township Saturday to say goodbye to their elementary school which the district was forced to close due to a major budget shortfall.

Former students signed their names on the wall, caught up with their former classmates and teachers and even made one last visit to the playground.

“We may be a small school, but we're a mighty school, and we're family,” said longtime crossing guard Angie Beagen.

“We planned this thing a month ago, and I'm like, ‘How many people are going to come?’” said former Rosenauer principal Ron Polakowski. “And then, of course, this community does what it always does - it rallies and comes together.”

S-2, the state’s funding formula, aims to redistribute aid from overfunded districts to the underfunded. Superintendent Nicole Pormilli says Jackson was among the 10 highest cuts over the last seven years, which left them with an $18 million deficit.

State monitors said the only way forward was to sell Rosenauer, cut 70 positions and raise the property tax levy.

“This is bittersweet,” said Sarah Bass, the granddaughter of the school’s namesake, Sylvia Rosenauer. “The number of you here today would really make her very, very happy to see.”

Former principal Barry Rosenzweig remarked that even at age 81, walking through the school doors still makes him feel vibrant - a message echoed by other alumni.

“I think the school shrunk a little, or I got a little bigger in the past years,” said former student Joey Roselli. “Turnout was great. A lot of people have moved away, but there's plenty of people back here keeping the spirit alive.”

“I just bawled my eyes out in my classroom that I taught in,” said former teacher Brittney Janowski. “The building shaped me as a teacher, because now I'm teaching first grade in my new district.”

The building will now be sold after 62 years. Officials are hoping for a $7 million sale.