Schools
Christian Schools May Lease Empty Aliso, O’Neill Campuses
SVUSD stands to earn nearly $1 million in three years by renting out two closed campuses. The deal needs approval from the school board.
The Saddleback Valley Unified School District could earn nearly $1 million in the next three years by leasing two empty campuses to private Christian schools.
Heritage Christian School of Mission Viejo is poised to lease the campus of the in Lake Forest starting in April 2012, while Mission Viejo Christian School is preparing to move onto the empty campus of O’Neill Elementary School in Mission Viejo on Jan. 1, 2012, according to proposed leases that the school board will consider Tuesday night.
If the agreements win approval of the board, each school will pay $13,000 per month to lease the properties. That would result in new revenues of $964,360 over three years, according to the district.
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If finalized, the moves will finally answer the question of what will happen to the shuttered school buildings. It also means that two private schools will take over buildings once intended for public use.
Heritage Christian School, located in Mission Viejo, offers “Christian-centered teaching, academic excellence, and Christian service, all in a distinctly loving and nurturing environment,” according to a statement posted by Principal George Gay on its website. Heritage Christian is currently housed at Mission Hills Church on Alicia Parkway in Mission Viejo.
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Gay, a long-time Lake Forest resident, said in an email Monday that he wanted to wait to comment on the specifics of the proposed lease until after it garners board approval. According to district documents, Heritage Christian’s lease will run from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2015.
Mission Viejo Christian School is already planning to move classes to O’Neill when classes resume after winter break, beginning Jan. 3, 2012. MVCS Principal Mike McAteer said that the move will allow his school to expand from 212 students today to as many as 500. The school is already accepting applications for new students to enroll in January.
“Our commitment to every family is to see your child succeed and to serve you as a family well,” McAteer said. “We’re thrilled to be able to expand.”
Laguna Parent Participation Preschool, which is already leasing a small area of O’Neill from the district, will remain at the site, according to McAteer.
Saddleback Valley Unified faces the highest rate of declining enrollment of any school district in Orange County, which costs it $3.8 million annually, officials say. The district estimated that closing a school saves it about $400,000 each year.
Still, SVUSD sparked controversy when it moved to close both O’Neill and Aliso. In 2009, the Mission Viejo City Council filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to try to stop SVUSD from closing O’Neill. Then in 2011, the board voted to close Aliso who argued that it was counterproductive to shutter a high-performing school with an innovative technology program.
In February, the board approved a lease agreement with another private Christian school, Pathway School of Laguna Hills, to lease O’Neill for $14,000 a month. But Pathway later backed out of the deal.
The text of the proposed leases are available online, along with the rest of the agenda for SVUSD’s board meeting.
The meeting starts at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Saddleback Valley Unified School District Boardroom at 25631 Peter A. Hartmann Way in Mission Viejo.
