Those involved in the proposal to move North Catholic High School to southwestern Butler County are using a logical process in evaluating the idea.

The decision to get people in this county actively involved early on by way of meetings that already have been held, and which will be held in the future, should set the stage for more-informed future discussion about what is being proposed.

A Catholic high school could be a positive addition to the educational scene in this county. Over the years, many parents have felt such an option should have been available for their children here, especially those whose children attended Catholic elementary schools.

That includes families in and around Butler.

Some people feel that a Catholic high school should have been available in Butler County 50 years ago — well before the big growth trend began.

As the significant growth continues, the county must strive to fill the wants of those who have moved here, even if it bucks longstanding tradition.

But the proposed North Catholic move will require county residents' strong support, financially and otherwise. The big question now, which proponents of the move are trying to determine, is whether the needed level of support will be available.

That question must be answered quickly, if there really are hopes of having the Catholic high school built and open in Cranberry Township or its environs by 2010.

The move also will require approval by the Diocese of Pittsburgh, which will be responsible for ensuring that the move is in the best interests of all concerned.

There's another point that needs to be considered: North Catholic alumni need to ponder their loyalty to their school and its traditions, and their interest in the school's being kept open. The long-term future of the school seems in doubt because of declining enrollment at its current location at 1400 Troy Hill Road, along Route 28 between Interstate 279 and the 31st Street Bridge in Pittsburgh.

The school has 340 students this year, down from 481 in 2000.

For alumni who want to preserve the school, a move north would seem to hold the best possibility.

Alumni should make their suggestions and level of future support known to the consultants that the diocese has hired to study the proposed move and determine the feasibility of what could be a $25 million project. That applies especially to alumni who currently have children in Catholic elementary schools, or even at the current high school.

It also applies to anyone else who has — or will have — children in Catholic elementary schools over the next several years in this county and who desire that their children attend a Catholic high school.

The nearest Catholic high schools to Cranberry are Quigley Catholic High School in Baden, Beaver County; Vincentian Academy in the North Hills section of Pittsburgh; and Aquinas Academy in Gibsonia.

For now, the positive study process should continue in the way it has begun. No doubt this study phase also will weigh the impact on public school districts and determine the feelings of those districts.

Information should be presented regarding the districts impacted and the scope of that impact.

Although, for now, the meetings have focused on the southern Butler County area, sharing of information with Catholic populations farther north should be on the agenda for the near future.