The Pittsburgh Diocese's plan to build a Catholic high school in Cranberry Township is the basis for mixed emotions by the county's public school districts.

With some public school students transferring to the Catholic school, after it is built, some space issues facing districts will be eased, representing a plus for the districts.

But on the flip side, state subsidies that the public districts would receive if those students had remained in their district will vanish, once those students transfer. And, that has the potential to pose financial challenges for the districts and their taxpayers.

Meanwhile, state law requires public school districts to bus children from their district who attend Catholic schools, with the public districts being reimbursed for only part of that expense.

According to the diocese, the proposed high school will have the capacity to serve approximately 1,000 students, meaning that 1,000 units of state subsidy will be lost by the districts whose students attend the new school. Meanwhile, regarding busing, the public districts' losses tied to attendance at the new school will be significant, although presumably not a major negative impact.

All of that said, the diocese's decision to move ahead with the school, once financial arrangements are in place, is a welcome addition to the county's educational opportunities. It will be another option for enabling young people to achieve their full potential — and it's important to note that the school will be open to non-Catholic children as well as Catholics.

Some non-Catholics embrace the idea of sending their children to what is perceived as the stricter environment of a parochial school, and no doubt that will occur when the new school is built.

Still, the matter of when the school construction actually gets under way will depend on the completion of financial arrangements, a fact that the diocese emphasized. Its statement announcing the decision to move ahead with the estimated $60 million construction project made clear the need for "substantial commitment of capital in the form of gifts, grants and external borrowing."

As for gifts, it would seem that some parts of Butler County as well as northern Allegheny County have the potential to produce significant sums of money.

Cranberry Township Manager Jerry Andree said the next step regarding the school will involve work with diocese officials on processing land-development applications. But it also is important to keep the public apprised of new developments, in an attempt to alleviate concerns about the construction and the impact it will have on traffic and other Cranberry area entities.

The new high school apparently will result in the relocation of the current North Catholic High School's student population at the time of the new school's opening. North Catholic is in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill section.

But the diocese also has said there are no plans to close North Catholic. What that statement means has yet to be explained.

In virtually every project, someone benefits and someone is impacted in a negative way. That situation is no different when a Catholic high school is being built in an area that previously did not have one.

All in all, however, the building of the proposed school has more plusses than minuses for Butler and adjoining counties; therefore, the project and what it will mean to many young people should be embraced and welcomed.