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Church looks for school site between Ashland and Medford By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND - High land prices and changing demographics have a local church school looking for a home closer to Medford. Grace Lutheran Church hopes to find a 10-acre site between south Medford and north Ashland to allow for expansion of its school that now serves 62 preschool through fourth-grade students. "Our congregation decided to stay where we are with the church, and take the school and try to get it centrally located in the valley where ... young families are located," said the Rev. Tony Schultz, the church's pastor. The congregation had considered relocating to the former Croman lumber mill site that Galpin LLC proposed for development. But potential prices in the development were beyond the church's means. A city zoning roadblock has forced Galpin to reconsider the project's scope, steering it more toward industrial uses. "A year ago we were pretty solid about selling and moving both the church and the school," said Schultz. "But through time's process, minds changed." Land costs in the proposed Galpin site would have been $100,00 to $150,000 per acre, said Schultz. The church figured it needed at least six-acres. Southern Oregon University would like to acquire the church's current 1.1-acre site, which is within the university's master plan boundary at 660 Francis Lane, just across from campus. Church leaders and university officials already have had informal discussions. An appraisal by SOU is under way, said Ron Bolstad, SOU's vice president of administration and finance. He expects the appraisal to be completed by mid-May and a more formal process to begin. A sale is possible if SOU "comes up with a price we can't refuse," said Schultz. An interim school site is a possibility. "We may be a school on the move for a while," he said. "We are open to a lot of things if it's affordable." Long-range plans call for construction of a school and another church later, said Shultz. But Grace Lutheran will remain in Ashland, he said. The school has nine students from Medford and nine from Phoenix and Talent. The other 44 come from Ashland. "What we hear is that people don't want to drive, but they want to come," said Ruth Olsen, a half-time teacher who founded the school in 1988. "Many of our own (church) families have moved. This year a number bought homes and moved to Talent and Phoenix or Medford. They were renters in Ashland. Olsen said the school needs more room for more classes and other church uses. A fifth-grade class will likely be added next year. Classroom setups throughout the church preclude most daytime activities. An expanded senior ministry is among Schultz's goals. "If we left the school where it's at, it would stay the same or dwindle," said Schultz. "God has given us a gift with good teachers and a good school. We need to make it more accessible. It just won't grow in the spot where it's at." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.