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Grandview Heights Christian Academy this month decided to eliminate eight of its 10 grades for the 2009-10 school year, cutting its enrollment from 78 students to about 16.
The move, announced two weeks ago, has forced parents of about 70 former students to make other arrangements for their children's education in the fall.
"We were pretty much blindsided by the economy," said the Rev. B.W. Hambrick, pastor of Ephrata Church of the Nazarene, which has operated the private school as a ministry since 1963.
Hambrick said school and church officials knew the recession was taking a toll on Grandview's enrollment, but they didn't realize how bad the situation was until June, when only 36 students indicated they planned to return for 2009-10.
The families of just 19 of those pupils paid the registration fee for '09-10, he said.
"As the summer progressed, we had more students dropping out from that 36," Hambrick said. "We knew there were difficulties, but we had no way of knowing we would lose half our registration."
That forced school and church officials to consider combining classes to retain the school's 10 grade levels, from pre-school to eighth grade.
But that plan proved unworkable, Hambrick said, and parents, who were notified by e-mail of the possible changes, weren't in favor of them.
Word of the grade consolidation created a snowball effect as more parents decided not to remain with the school, he said.
On July 14, the boards of directors of the church and school approved what Hambrick called "a decision of last resort" and reluctantly agreed to the downsizing.
"It was a difficult decision," said Nancy Eberly, who is working her final week as Grandview's principal "We've had some families who have been very committed to us over the years, and for those families it was heartbreaking."
Lottie Herr counts herself in that group.
Her daughter, Jairund, 10, attended Grandview the past five years and loved the school, Herr said.
"It was very much a Christian atmosphere, and you could tell that just by walking down the hallways," Herr said.
"Students were encouraged to be helpful to each other, … and the staff was able to devote the one-on-one attention the children needed."
Herr likely will send Jairund, who will be a fifth-grader, to Lititz Christian School next month, she said.
To assist parents of former Grandview students, Lititz Christian is waiving its $170 registration fee and offering a one-year tuition discount of $500.
Terri Sweigart, whose daughter was looking forward to third grade at Grandview next month, said she, too, was heartbroken at the downsizing.
"But with the way the economy is, the first expense many people will cut is private school tuition," Sweigart said.
To try to boost its enrollment, Grandview increased its advertising and hosted more weekend and evening open houses in the past year, but the efforts weren't successful.
Meanwhile, the recession forced several Grandview families to move out of the area to find jobs, while others transferred their children to public schools to cut costs, Eberly said.
The school was not able to recover from that lost enrollment.
The downsizing has displaced Eberly and eight other faculty members.
Four have found teaching jobs at other schools; one will teach Grandview's kindergarten class; and another will work in the church's day-care program, Hambrick said.
Enrollment in that program, which serves children from 6 weeks of age to grade five, has remained strong, with 120 children registered for the fall.
The three other displaced Grandview teachers have yet to find positions.
Ephrata Church of the Nazarene has not given up on the school and intends to build Grandview back up one grade at a time — once the economy rebounds, Hambrick said.
"That's been our plan and vision forever — to have a school — and we're not going to drop it," he said. "It's who we are and what we do.
"I'm convinced that we will come back."
E-mail: bwallace@lnpnews.com
