Baltimore Archdiocese to Close 1 in 5 Schools

With costs rising and enrollment dropping, the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Wednesday that it will close 13 of its 64 schools at the end of the academic year, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Nine of the 13 affected schools — 12 K-8 and one high school — are in the city of Baltimore. The archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien said the consolidation is necessary for the archdiocese to “stop and regroup” in the face of long-term financial problems.

Enrollment in the region’s Catholic elementary and middle schools has dropped 20 percent since 2002, and the archdiocese has already shut down 16 facilities in Baltimore, the surrounding counties, and Western Maryland.