By Michelle Bliss
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-990488.mp3
Wilmington, NC – The plan for a Catholic high school in New Hanover County has been stalled by low student enrollment. WHQR's Michelle Bliss reports that the project has been put on hold.
Organizers have been working for three years to secure donated land in Castle Hayne and financial support from the Diocese of Raleigh for construction.
Mike Cahill chairs the school's organizing committee, which needed 55 students to sign up by early this month in order to move forward. Annual tuition would have cost $7,000 per student.
Cahill's heard several reasons why families couldn't commit, including financial constraints and travel time to the school.
"Another part of the reason was that the school was going to be starting with ninth grade and then adding tenth, eleventh, and twelfth, in successive years. And some people wanted to have the whole high school experience right there at the get-go."
Cahill says the committee will regroup and determine if there's enough demand for a Catholic high school in the area.
Right now, Wilmington has two K-8 Catholic schools, but no high school.
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