From The Philadelphia Inquirer: Two Catholic high schools in Philadelphia will close in June. Cardinal Justin Rigali announced the planned closures of Cardinal Dougherty High School and Northeast Catholic High School for Boys. The closures reflect the persistent problems of rising costs, falling enrollment, and competition from publicly funded charter schools across the five-county archdiocese, especially in the city.
SIDEBAR: At the same time that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is closing two high schools in the city, it is preparing to open a new high school in the suburbs in the fall and plans to build another in a few years. The $65 million Pope John Paul II High School, under construction near Royersford, Pa., is a beneficiary of the exodus of Catholic families to western Montgomery County.
