Four city Catholic schools supported through the Extra Mile Education Foundation will be merged into two schools over the next several years, according to a news release from the Diocese of Pittsburgh today.

The four schools are Holy Rosary in Homewood, St. Benedict the Moor in the Hill District, St. James in Wilkinsburg and St. Agnes in Oakland. The release said for the past 20 years the schools have served about 650 students who are "primarily African American and non-Catholic."

But the schools have experienced the same declining enrollment that has affected other Catholic schools in the region. The release said declining enrollment led to less efficient use of space, increased per pupil costs and higher tuition.

The consolidation will allow for stabilized tuition, improved educational programs, enhanced extracurricular activities and improvement of the physical plants, according to the release.

The diocese, the Extra Mile Education Foundation and the parishes that include the schools are in the process of establishing one educational site in the East End for the 2010-2011 school year and discussions are under way to create one educational site in the Hill District, but that will not take place before the 2011-2012 school year.

In addition to the merger, the diocese announced plans to expand the Extra Mile scholarship program, which currently provides scholarships to about 120 additional students at two other Catholic schools -- Good Shepherd in Braddock and Cardinal Wright Regional School on the North Side. Plans now call for expanding the program to other schools and offering more scholarships, which will allow more African American students to attend Catholic school, according to the release.

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