Catholic elementary schools in West Deer and Elizabeth Borough will close, and two others, in Bethel Park and South Park, will merge at the end of the school year because of declining enrollment.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said yesterday that Transfiguration Parish School in the Russellton section of West Deer and St. Michael Parish School in Elizabeth will close in June.

The schools at St. Germaine Parish in Bethel Park and Nativity Parish in South Park will merge. The new school will be located at St. Germaine and be called St. Katharine Drexel.

The diocese and the parishes in West Deer and Elizabeth had been working for several years to keep the schools there open.

But continued drops in enrollment and increasing costs have finally forced them to close, the diocese said.

"It's sad for us to close any school," said the Rev. Kris Stubna, secretary of educationforthe diocese. "But when you start to get below 100 students, it's very hard to maintain a strong program. These schools have really been trying to maintain themselves. But I think everybody knew that something would have to happen."

Enrollment at Transfiguration fell from 92 students in 2004-05 to 57 this year and was expected to drop further next year. Because of the decline, the tuition had risen from $2,200 to $3,175 and the cost per pupil had jumped from $4,166 to $6,142 since 2004.

At St. Michael, enrollment dropped from 79 to 49 during the same period and tuition jumped to $3,050. The school was the smallest in the diocese.

The diocese said other Catholic schools in those areas can take in the students from the closed schools.

The two South Hills schools saw similar drops in students. St. Germaine's enrollment fell from 172 in 2001-02 to 86 this year, and tuition increased from $1,800 to $3,000.

Nativity Catholic's enrollment fell from 114 to 48 with tuition increasing from $1,950 to $2,950.

The diocese said the St. Germaine complex is the best location for the merged school, which will open in the fall.

The closures are the continuation of a trend of realignment for the diocese as the number of school-age children declines throughout the Pittsburgh region.

But while the overall number of students is dropping, some schools in more economically affluent parts of the region are thriving.

Father Stubna said about 70 percent of the 103 elementary schools in the system are growing, especially in the North Hills and parts of the South Hills.

In addition, he said, all 12 high schools have increasing enrollments and a number of building projects are underway.

But other schools, particularly those in and near the city of Pittsburgh and in the small towns of the Monongahela Valley, continue to struggle.