The news that the Archdiocese of Miami plans to close six of its schools because of funding woes got us wondering whether the same might be true for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Things are tough all over, right?

Diocese spokesman Frank Murphy told the Gradebook that the church has no plans to close any schools at the moment.

"However," Murphy continued -- you knew one of those was coming -- "as you've seen schools close in Pinellas County in various areas, the demographics are shifting." Some of the Catholic schools in the region have seen big enrollment dips, while others have grown.

"So we are always looking at and asking, 'How do we position our schools?' " Murphy said.

Bishop Lynch has put together a task force to examine which schools might need to expand and which might need to close. Murphy expected the study to be complete in about a year.

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