Efforts to help parents pay the tuition at St. Jane Frances School in Riviera Beach has left the private Catholic school - and its parent church - more than half a million dollars in debt, officials with the Archdiocese of Baltimore said yesterday.

Sean Caine, a diocesan spokesman, said the school has provided more than $350,000 in financial assistance to parents looking to scrape together enough money to pay their tuition bills.

He didn't say if that assistance spanned several years, or if it was in the form of scholarships or tuition waivers.

But it's one of the main reasons the school is running a projected deficit of...