Valleycliffe's Cedar Mountain Community Church will soon be bustling again, this time as Cedar Valley School, the independent school inspired by Waldorf education. It is the second time the school has moved in the past four years as it responds to a growing student body and the rising costs of rent in town.This time, the transition will take the school's 55 children from an industrial area on Government Road to a more residential part of town. "Some families can walk to school," said school principal Christine Martin. "Right now all students need to have a ride."It will also allow administration to avoid a crippling increase in overhead costs.The rock-bottom rent the school had been paying on their BC Rail site was set to skyrocket from $2,000 to $12,000 a month with the departure of the site's main occupant, Pacific Power Poles, said Martin. When the old church on Westway Avenue came on the market in February, she leapt at the opportunity. The school snagged the property with an offer of $557,000, but administration now faces the unenviable task of raising $200,000 by May to cover the costs of a down payment, renovations and a new school bus service for families travelling from areas such as Paradise Valley. Following a summer of renovations and rezoning, the move would take place in September. "All the sudden it's like, 'Hey, we've got to find the money,' " Martin said. In March, the school began a capital funding campaign, mailing letters out to parents and other members of the community. They have managed to raise about $50,000 in the past month, with high hopes for bringing in additional funding at their annual May Fair and Open House on May 10.They are also applying for a number of grants from sources such as the Vancouver Foundation and Paul Newman Charitable Grants.Families have not only given their money, some have also lent a hand to the application process. Heather Royal-Brant, a parent and former teacher at the Cedar Valley School, painted a watercolour of the new location being enjoyed by children to add colour and warmth to the applications."It is wonderful to feel the support of the community," Martin said.Even as she pulls together resources for the current move, Martin is looking ahead to another one five to 10 years down the road that could finally put the school in a permanent home. The school picks up an additional grade each year as it moves closer to offering a full spectrum of classes from early learning to Grade 8. With a larger student body, an even bigger location will soon be needed. Martin said she hopes to secure several acres of undeveloped property in the future to build a school, but could not give any details about prospective locations."At that point, we're really excited to build our own environmentally-friendly beautiful building," she said. "In the short term, we're really excited about this building."
