Construction on North Valley Christian Academy’s new high school is moving along with a targeted completion date of January 2024.
The new 13,700-square-foot building will be located on the north end of the existing parking lot on its current campus.
Building plans include a STEM lab, science lab, theater, lecture halls and classrooms.
The school which opened in its new location in 2017 has grown from 350 students to 676 students enrolled for fall 2023, said Chris Schoenleb, head of school. When the high school opens, it will do so with roughly 200 students enrolled, he said. Total capacity in the new building will top out at about 240.
Parking Lot on Hold
Construction of the new school means the school loses 30 parking spots from its existing lot, pushing some of the staff parking to the unofficial parking lot on a parcel the school owns directly north of Westland Road along 27th Drive, Schoenleb said.
NVCA officials had been working to get a permanent parking lot with an additional 136 spaces approved, but Schoenleb said the school has tabled the proposal temporarily. He told Valley Vibe results from a recent independent third-party traffic study indicated that the intersection of 27th and Westland Road does not meet the requirements for the installation of a traffic signal. Neighbors in the area have called upon the school and the City for a traffic signal or some sort of resolution to improve traffic flow at that intersection.
In the meantime, Schoenleb told Valley Vibe NVCA will implement staggered start/end times for its preschool, K-8, and 9-12 grade students when school resumes Aug. 9. He also warned that the City is planning utility work along 27th Drive which will temporarily be restricted from four to two lanes during the project, which will likely coincide with the first week of school, causing more traffic congestion than usual.
By Karen Goveia
editor@valleyvibenews.com