GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Grand Rapids school board is mulling an offer from Grand Rapids Christian Schools to buy the vacant Shawnee Park Math/Science/Technology School for $800,000 to house its middle school.
"After carefully exploring the best long-term plan for Grand Rapids Middle School over the past few years, we have come to the conclusion that renovating the existing facility is cost-prohibitive," according to the Monday, Sept. 9 letter from Tom DeJonge, superintendent of Grand Rapids Christian Schools.
The school board briefly discussed the offer at Monday, Sept. 9, work session before going into closed session. School board president Wendy Falb said the offer was not surprising, given Shawnee's proximity to the high school. She said a couple items would need to be negotiated before the board votes.
Shawnee, a K-5 school located at 2036 Chesaning Drive SE, closed this spring along with 10 other district buildings as part of restructure of the system. The school is located on Burton Street between Breton Avenue and Plymouth Street, near Grand Rapids Christian High School.
"We have thoroughly investigated all aspects of the Shawnee Park campus and believe the facility offers wonderful opportunities for Grand Rapids Christian Schools and the educational and co-curricular programs at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School," according to DeJonge.
Grand Rapids Christian Middle School is now located at 1875 Rosewood Ave. SE.
The bid is contingent on several conditions:
• Zoning and other approvals of improvements that will be made by GRCS to the campus from the city of Grand Rapids.
• All existing playground equipment remains on site.
• All technology infrastructure to remain, include wiring, racks, mounts, paging and PA systems.
• All existing kitchen equipment to remain, including freezers, refrigerators, coolers, sinks, work tables, etc. that were present at the time of our site visits in the 2012-13 school year.
The $22 million renovations and new construction at Grand Rapids Christian High School is nearly complete and the Iroquois and Evergreen campuses of Grand Rapids Christian Elementary School are in the fourth year.
Grand Rapids Christian Middle School, which serves 435 students in grades 5 through 8, is the final piece for the system to address.
There are more than 2,300 students in preschool through 12th grade in the Grand Rapids Christian Schools.
The property was appraised for $850,000. Neal said she plans to keep the majority of the schools closed this spring for future program and capacity needs.
Monica Scott is the Grand Rapids K-12 education writer. Email her at mscott2@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @GRPScotty or Facebook
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