A California district has terminated the lease of a private Christian school, but the operator of the school says it will not vacate the facility.
The Orange County Register reports that the Lowell Joint District in Whittier, Calif., has cancelled Whittier Christian Elementary School’s lease to use the former Maybrook Elementary School campus.
District officials say they hope to find a replacement private school and has a replacement in mind. Meanwhile, the operator of Whittier Christian vows to stay put, possibly forcing an eviction.
Whittier Christian, which had 288 students last year, is scheduled to begin classes Aug. 24. Lowell Superintendent Jim Coombs says the district is prepared to go to court to evict the school from the campus.
Lowell terminated the lease because because the private school is under new management and the agreement with the district does not allow a sublease. In addition, district officials say, the new operators were planning to expand the elementary to grades seven and eight.
“This lease has been in place since (July 1994) and the board has made its standing practice to have elementary students only,” Coombs says.
The new operator “intends to remain at the Maybrook campus for the foreseeable future,” its lawyer informed the district.
