In 2018 the Diocese of Raleigh began a series of studies to explore the feasibility of expanding Catholic high school options across eastern North Carolina. In February 2020, updates on all of the regional feasibility studies for Catholic high schools were suspended as the pandemic emerged. At that time three of the four regional studies had been completed.
The current status of each regional study is as follows:
The feasibility study for the eastern Coastal area was additionally delayed due to the 2019 hurricanes that struck the area and with the present public health crisis, the feasibility study for this region remains postponed.
The feasibility studies for the Fayetteville and Wilmington areas did not continue beyond the initial research phase to the financial and/or site planning phase. The research conducted by Meitler Group in cooperation with local leaders did not identify community support sufficient to warrant moving forward to the next steps of school planning at this time.
This research project in the Durham Chapel Hill region is moving forward to the next phase. Diocese of Raleigh staff are working in conjunction with the diocesan Real Estate Committee to secure land for a potential new high school in this area and work with local government officials on permitting and other issues. In tandem with real estate procurement, additional financial and school site planning are underway to ensure that if/when a potential high school building project in this region gets formally underway, it will have the long-term financial and community support to be sustainable.