Judah Christian Administrator Still Wants School in Southwest Champaign Location

The head of Champaign's Judah Christian School hasn't given up on plans to relocate in a developing area to the southwest.

Tuesday night the city council rejected the annexation agreement for 50 acres with developer Jacob's Landing, located at Kirby Avenue and Rising Road. School Administrator Tim Hayes the decision comes as a shock after hearing positive remarks in the past from city leaders.

The council voted to 4-4 with one member abstaining, but the item failed since it needed a two-thirds majority. Some council members were concerned that the non-profit school couldn't reimburse property taxes for emergency services, and that building a new school to the Southwest would set a bad precedent as Champaign's Central High School looks to rebuild in a few years.

Hayes said he is working with Judah Christian's real estate attorney to see if the school can go back before the council with an amended request for the same area.

"At this point, we're trying to decide whether it would be in our best interests to move forward," he said. "We'd like for it to be this piece of property, but I don't know what our options are, and I think we're trying to establish that before we make a decision on whether we're going to move forward or look for another piece of property."

Judah Christian is nearly at capacity with just under 600 students, and the lack of athletic facilities means the school has to rent out areas for baseball and soccer games. The school on Prospect Avenue has been trying to re-locate for the last few years, including to an area in North Urbana.

In 2008, city leaders there rejected the plan since the industrial location wasn't compatible with a school. Champaign Planning Director Bruce Knight says it's possible the school could alter its relocation plan to include a payment in lieu of taxes. Unless the city council suspended its rules, Judah Christian would have to wait six months to come back before the council.