SPRINGFIELD — Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic high schools faced financial sustainability issues well before the June 1, 2011, tornado severely damaged Cathedral's 50-year-old building on Surrey Road, forcing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield to consider the future of Catholic education in the region.

During a meeting recently with parents of the two schools, diocesan officials outlined the "dilemmas" the schools face during a half-hour PowerPoint presentation at St. Thomas the Apostle School in West Springfield.

Cathedral, which was founded in 1883, moved from buildings in around Elliot Street where the bishop's residence is located to a new building, designed for almost 3,000 students, in Springfield's East Forest Park neighborhood in 1959.

Enrollment at Cathedral began to decline before the tornado hit, leaving the diocese with an cavernous building that was costly to maintain.

Holyoke Catholic was founded in 1963 as the result of the merger of four smaller Holyoke Catholic schools – Sacred Heart, St. Jerome, Holy Rosary and Precious Blood – into one downtown location.

In 2002, Holyoke Catholic was forced to leave its downtown building due to structural concerns. The school was relocated to the former St. Hyacinth's Seminary in Granby before moving to its current location in the former Assumption elementary school in Chicopee where it has remained since 2006. Its enrollment has also declined since the 1980s.

Since the tornado, Cathedral has been operating out of rented space in the former Memorial Elementary School in Wilbraham, another facility that is inadequate for the future, the diocese says.

With both schools facing financial challenges, it was the tornado that triggered the "inevitable" discussion leading to the diocesan proposal to merge the two schools under the umbrella of one new regional Catholic high school.

A committee appointed by Bishop Rozanski is reviewing potential sites for a new regional high school including Surrey Road, a parcel the diocese owns off Route 5 in West, Springfield, another property it owns near the former St. Stanislaus church in Chicopee and a the former Uniroyal plant, also in Chicopee.

A decision on a site is expected by the end of the school year.

Here is the diocese's overview of the schools' situation:

The Cathedral Dilemma:

Declining enrollment over a period of 40 years.

275,000-square-foot building with 500 students – Cathedral and St. Michael's Academy.

Inefficient building contributed to a costly annual budget-tuition and annual giving (revenue) has been far less than annual operational costs.

Concerns had begun to surface about the school's future. How long could the school sustain itself.

The tornado forces the inevitable – 'What is the future of Cathedral and the future of secondary education for the diocese of Springfield.'

The Holyoke Catholic Dilemma

Old downtown Holyoke campus closes due to structural concerns.

School moves to Granby seminary while a determination is made about its future.

Consolidation is considered but not implemented.

Site selected in Chicopee – Diocesan school rehabbed and new addition built

Yet the Chicopee facility has no space for outside facilities.

Limited parking for staff and visitors.

No theater. Church hall used for school-wide meetings.

No athletic fields on campus.

(Source: The Springfield Diocese)