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Christian high school plans fall 2015 opening at former community center site

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The space that most recently housed the West Newport Community Center will become home to Newport Beach’s only private Christian high school.

The City Council voted unanimously last week to approve a 10-year lease that allows Pacifica Christian High School of Orange County to convert the former community center building at 883 W. 15th St. into a high school.

The school plans to welcome its first ninth- and 10th-grade classes in fall 2015. School officials expect total enrollment of about 75 students for the first year.

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Pacifica Christian, which has a sister school in Santa Monica, will pay Newport Beach annual rent of $289,054. The school plans to serve 125 students in grades 9 through 12 within four years.

Pacifica Christian and the city have been negotiating use of the property for nine months, said David Bahnsen, vice president of Pacifica Christian’s board of trustees. The city will continue to use two classrooms and the gym for community programs. City officials have not yet selected a new location for a community center in west Newport Beach.

“The buzz surrounding the school is so big and enthusiasm is so strong,” Bahnsen said. “We’re very excited.”

The site previously was the location of the Newport Christian High School. When that school shut down in the 1980s, the city bought the land and converted it into a community center.

The property seemed ideal to Bahnsen, whose father taught at Newport Christian. “It’s kind of sentimental for me,” he said.

The new high school will provide an option for local parents who are seeking a Christian education for their kids. Currently, children who complete eighth grade must commute to other cities to continue their private faith-based education in high school, Bahnsen said.

Bahnsen said the college-preparatory school’s classwork will rival that of other private institutions in the area, like Sage Hill School in Newport Coast.

Pacifica Christian will have an emphasis in liberal-arts education and feature class sizes of 14 to 18 students, Bahnsen said. Tuition will be $15,500 annually.

Tuition at Sage Hill, which does not have a religious affiliation, is $31,310 a year.

Pacifica Christian is accepting applications for fall 2015. For more information, visit its website, https://www.pacificaoc.org.

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