Christian school, Ventura Unified settle eviction case
Ventura County Christian School will leave its Ventura home of more than two decades by July 15, nearly a year after Ventura Unified School District told the school it was being evicted.
Eight months of legal wrangling ended Monday when Ventura Unified's board approved a settlement releasing the school from back rent and future rent in exchange for its departure from the MacMillan Avenue campus at the end of the school year.
As it happened: Ventura district terminates Christian school lease; Monday morning showdown looms
Ron Bamieh, the Christian school's lawyer, said that the district waived more than 10 months of rent, or upward of $120,000 under the terms of a lease proposed by the district last summer. The school has paid two months of rent under the $12,000-per-month lease terms, or $24,000, that the district will not return, Bamieh said.
The settlement concludes the district never executed the proposed lease, meaning its 2021 terms of $6,000 a month for the current school year stand. Counting the money already paid, Ventura Unified will waive what would have been $48,000 of rent for the former Washington School property, said Marieanne Quiroz, a district spokesperson.
District Superintendent Antonio Castro refused multiple phone interview requests through Quiroz before the spokesperson forwarded his emailed responses to a series of written questions on Wednesday.
As part of the agreement, the Christian school also agreed to waive religious discrimination claims against the district and to halt recent efforts to have the former Washington School grounds declared a national historical site.
In his emailed responses, Castro said that the school has "no current plans" for the property, with the school board to discuss "any future considerations."
Ventura Unified initiated eviction proceedings against the school on Aug. 29, days before the start of classes, saying an architectural review had found the site's century-old buildings unsafe for use as a school. The Christian school opened anyway a week later, disputing the district's interpretation of the review.
The new agreement doesn't resolve that debate.
District officials said they still believe the property to be unsafe but will allow the school to remain until July as a "good faith" effort to settle eviction proceedings. The school will take on liability for the property and procure insurance itself, the settlement says.
This story was updated to include responses received from the district early Wednesday afternoon.
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County Christian School, Ventura Unified settle eviction case
