More Diocese Of Pittsburgh Schools Closing, Merging For 2019-20 Academic Year
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- More schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh will be closing or merging for the 2019-20 academic year.
Bishop David Zubik made an announcement regarding six schools Saturday.
St. Malachy School in Kennedy Township will merge with Holy Trinity School in Robinson Township. The new school will be called Archangel Gabriel School. Preschool classes will be held at the St. Malachy site and K-8 classes will be held at the Holy Trinity site.
Meanwhile, St. John Bosco Academy in Brookline and St. Agnes School in West Mifflin will both close.
St. Raphael School in Morningside and St. Sylvester School in Brentwood, however, will remain open for the 2019-20 academic year.
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Father Nicholas Vaskov, Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese Spokesperson, spoke about the declining numbers with KDKA by phone.
"Sometimes enrollment was over 100, 150. It just depends on each instance, and even over decades, [enrollment] could have been above 200 depending on the instance, but in the past few years, [enrollment] had seen declines to the point where pastors realized they had to make a decision and work with their counsels and met with school parents and tried to involve everyone necessary to come to the best decision," he said.
Zubik says the diocese will facilitate meetings between parents of children who attend the closing schools and principals from nearby Catholic elementary schools.
In a release, the diocese says they are forming a South Region that will be made up of 14 schools serving 21 parish groupings as part of an ongoing regionalization plan.
