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Parents of students at St. Jude Catholic School say they are upset and worried after rumors began circulating last week that the Aspen Hill school would be merging with St. Catherine Labouré Catholic School in Wheaton, but officials at the Archdiocese of Washington say that information is not true.

Kathy Dempsey, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said meetings were scheduled for Tuesday night to discuss financial issues and enrollment at the schools, but that no proposal to make St. Catherine and St. Jude one school has been put forward.

Kay Kay Joseph, a Rockville resident and St. Jude parent, said she heard from a "very reliable source" that St. Jude and St. Catherine Labouré could become one school beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. She would not disclose her source.

She said she heard the plan was to close St. Catherine and house both schools in St. Jude's building off of Veirs Mill Road. The school would then be given a new name, mascot and uniforms, Joseph added.

Feeling "blindsided" by the news, she sent out an e-mail to other St. Jude's parents Nov. 11 sharing what she had heard.

Joseph's e-mail came one day after parents received a letter from the Rev J. William Hines, pastor of the Shrine of St. Jude Catholic Church, saying the school has faced challenges financially and in enrollment and that he felt it was important for the parish and school community to meet to discuss those issues and how they could be addressed.

Dempsey sent The Gazette a copy of the letter sent to St. Jude staff, which she said is identical to the one parents received.

Hines was scheduled to meet with staff at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and again with parents at 7:30 p.m. Dempsey said The Gazette could not attend the meeting because it was only open to the school community.

"There are no preconceived outcomes," Dempsey said of the meetings. "The parish and the community need to hear about — and no surprise here — declining enrollment and discuss the future of the school."

She said 14 schools, including St. Jude and St. Catherine, have been meeting to discuss the same issues.

"We're asking parents to be a part of the solution and sharing with them the financial health of the schools," she said.

Dempsey said anything is possible at this point, but that any proposals would have to be vetted by the school, parents and the archdiocese before a decision is made.

The Rev. Michael A. Salah, pastor of St. Catherine Labouré Catholic Church, said he planned to talk with his parents and parishioners Tuesday to see if they could come up with any solutions. He planned to suggest tithing, taking up a second collection at services or fundraising. He said merging with another school, like St. Jude's or any of the six others in the area, or asking a parish without a school to help support St. Catherine's parish, might also be an option.

"I have to see what the parents want first," he said. "There are a lot of intelligent people in this parish and I'm sure we can come up with some sort of solution."

Hines, St. Jude Principal Mary Ellen Jordan and St. Catherine Principal Beverly Consilvio could not be reached for comment.

Dempsey said St. Jude has 279 students this year, a loss of 39 students from last year's enrollment. St. Catherine's has 235 students, which is similar to last year, she said.

Enrollment is estimated to be down by more than 2 percent this year at all of the 96 schools within the Archdiocese of Washington, Dempsey said.

Financially, last fiscal year St. Jude School had an operating deficit of approximately $454,000, which was paid by the parish, she said. This year, St. Jude is expected to have an estimated loss of just over $200,000. Dempsey said St. Jude also has more than $1 million in an endowment fund.

St. Catherine School had an operating deficit of approximately $315,000 last year, which was also paid off by the parish, Dempsey said. This year, that number is expected to increase to more than $401,000, she said.

St. Jude is current with its payments to the archdiocese, but St. Catherine has fallen somewhat behind, Dempsey said.

Heidi McAuliffe, chair of St. Jude's School Advisory Board, said she was surprised when the rumor got to her. She asked Hines if any decisions had been made regarding the future of St. Jude and he said no.

"It sounds like it's going to be a collaborative process before anything is done," she said.

McAuliffe said she hated to see everyone jump to conclusions and told parents to stay calm.

"I'm urging everyone to come [to the meeting] with an open mind and be ready with ideas for potential solutions," she said.