Bloomington area being considered for new Catholic high school

Otolski said enrollment at Catholic schools that serve students south of Indianapolis in elementary and middle school have been on the rise, and there are few high schools for them to attend without a long commute.

“Right now, they don’t have many options at all unless they want to drive to one of the schools in Indianapolis, or there’s a private academy in Oldenburg,” he said. 

Otolski noted that there have been discussions in the past about opening a Catholic high school outside of Indianapolis, but the conversation was sparked this time in Greenwood by Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi parish, which has seen a rise in enrollment. 

Otolski said there are students who attend Catholic schools even if they do not belong to a Catholic parish, and the increase in enrollment has been a trend for several years. When asked about the impact of school of choice scholarships, or vouchers, that are awarded to families by the state to offset the cost of tuition at private schools, Otoliski said vouchers have helped increase enrollment. 

“We’ve seen growth in our schools because of vouchers, but they were growing before that,” he said.