WITHOUT question, there is pressure upon churches and Christian schools to find facilities.

In some cities, such as Chilliwack, virtually every public school facility is rented to a church on Sunday mornings. The facilities needed to run a school, however, are far more complex and permanent.

Heritage Christian School

South Surrey’s Heritage Christian School, founded in 1986, grew to accommodate 120 students, utilizing space at Peace Arch Christian Fellowship.

Two years ago, Peace Arch merged with Panorama Ridge Church, becoming Gracepoint. The merger meant the new congregation would likely make heavier use of  the available space. Heritage School was give a year and a half to find new premises.

Otto Baartman, board chair for the school, told BCCN: “As we searched and searched, we came up with dead ends or doors closing.” Because the school was “a very united and close knit community,” the decision to close the school “was a difficult announcement to make. Indeed it was not just not the 120 students – but 20 staff would need new jobs.”

As the end approached, the school had a number of celebrations – including a staff appreciation night, a children’s festival and a special 20-year anniversary. The final year saw 10 students graduate from grade 12.

“The school closing doesn’t cease what was going on,” Baartman said. “It’s not the building or the society” which counts. “It’s the people that carry on the ministry elsewhere.”

Most students transferred to White Rock Christian Academy or Regent Christian Academy; some entered public schools.

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Greater Victoria Christian Academy

Greater Victoria Christian Academy (GVCA) has closed its  facility this year. GVCA board chair Don Helliwell cited dropping enrollment, and the school’s urban setting, in two churches – Central Baptist and Church of Our Lord.

Many parents were unhappy with the downtown locations. Helliwell noted the Central campus was only a block from a controversial safe-injection site for drug users.

Enrollment, which had been close to 200 at their earlier campus, was down to about 120 after a move downtown last year. He also acknowledged that acquiring a permanent campus is not easy in the Victoria setting – despite declining public school enrollment, which has led to the closure of schools in the public system.

School District 61’s policy, he says, is to bar the selling or renting of unused public schools to institutions which compete with them. He doesn’t consider this a case of the public sector discriminating against Christians.

“It is just that they have their own struggles with declining enrollments,” he says, adding he could understand their reluctance to deal with “the competition.”

FISA

Despite these closures, Fred Herfst – executive director of the Federation of Independent School Associations (FISA) – confirmed B.C. independent school enrollment remains strong. This is in contrast to declining public school enrollment rates, which are mainly due to a decrease in birth rates.

The future for independent schools, Herfst says, looks solid. “On the basis of enrollment stats for last year, my expectation is of a holding pattern or slight increase.”        – Peter Biggs

August 2007