If there is one word that best describes the initial efforts aimed at building a new North Catholic High School in Butler County, that word must be "confidence."

Leaders working on the project are confident that $10 million to $12 million can be raised through donations from alumni and other givers.

They are confident that there is sufficient interest among Catholic families — and even among some non-Catholic families — in Butler County in regard to sending their children to the new high school once it is built and operational. Current projections are that construction of the school could begin in 2008 or 2009 and be ready for occupancy by the fall of 2010.

Declining enrollment at the school's current location in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill area has spawned the decision to move north. The school's enrollment peaked at about 1,200 in the 1960s, but enrollment this year is down to 340 students.

Butler County currently does not have a Catholic high school, despite having a number of Catholic elementary schools, including Butler Catholic School in the City of Butler.

Meanwhile, those working on the new-school project are confident about finding the right site for the school in Butler County.

"Trust me; we have our eyes on some specific places," said Frank Orga, North Catholic president.

With the proposed new school carrying an estimated $25 million price tag and, depending on the actual amount raised by way of the capital campaign, which could begin as early as September, the project could require the borrowing of $13 million to $15 million. Project leaders are confident of their ability to arrange financing of that magnitude.

The eye toward moving the school to Butler County also is based in large part on school leaders' confidence that growth in this county will continue. Judging from what has happened in this county over the past two or three decades, especially in the county's southwestern sector, that is a bet with great positive odds.

Orga is confident that a building could be built to serve between 700 and 1,500 students. Most Butler County residents might not have realized that about a third of the students currently attending North Catholic — about 110 — live in the Seneca Valley School District.

North Catholic leaders can feel confident that with the strong Catholic population in Cranberry and Adams townships, interest in North Catholic will increase markedly once the commute to Troy Hill is no longer necessary.

Finally, a basis for confidence exists as a result of surveys in parishes, at community meetings and among focus groups, as well as among individuals. A total of 91 percent of those surveyed in the Cranberry area expressed support for the move.

The idea of having a Catholic high school in Butler County isn't new. In fact, there have been discussions for nearly a half-century, including about the possibility of building a high school near Butler.

With the growth in the southwestern part of the county and the possibility of having an established high school with a strong educational reputation moving in, it would seem that North Catholic represents a win-win situation for those desiring that such a school be available for this county's children.

Orga said start-up of the capital campaign probably is a couple of months behind, but he expressed the opinion that the campaign and other project work will be able to catch up to the initially envisioned time frame.

Probably the biggest asset working in the new school's favor is leaders' confidence in their ability to put all of the elements of the project together successfully, despite the challenges inherent in such an effort.

What they have done so far in gauging public support and drawing up financial projections is indicative of their planning skills and energy.

If the new North Catholic High School is going to be built on a foundation of confidence, it already has sturdy building blocks in place to keep the project moving forward.