The only Roman Catholic high School in Berkshire County is closing. The Diocese of Springfield announced Thursday that St. Joseph Central High School in Pittsfield will close at the end of the current academic year in June 2017.
Church officials blamed the closure on declining enrollment, the increasing costs of education, greater financial assistance needs, a financial deficit, and the overwhelming costs of renovating the school's aging facilities.
The diocese has provided the school more than $4.5 million in funding in the last five years and could no longer afford that kind of financial support.
The school has just 68 students this year after an anticipated influx of international students fell through at the last minute.
St. Joseph was founded in 1897.
