CHESTERFIELD — Leaders of a new private school have scrapped plans to open at a site in Chesterfield after neighbors gathered hundreds of signatures in opposition.
Galilee Academy, a Christian Science school with grades pre-K through 12, is looking for another location after an garnered over 800 signatures from people opposed to the school opening across the street from Parkway West Middle.
“It’s hard enough to start a school and building a new facility,†Brian McCauley, head of school for Galilee Academy, said. “Why would we want to take on all the neighbors?â€
A group of residents in the nearby Claymont Woods subdivision started writing to Chesterfield city officials after receiving a May 17 letter notifying them of Galilee Academy’s request for a zoning variance.
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Galilee Academy wanted to operate on the former 5.7-acre site of equestrian school Noonan Farms. Chesterfield’s city code requires 20 acres for a senior high school and 10 for a middle school.
Neighbors mostly opposed Galilee Academy because of traffic.
Baxter Road is already a “disaster†when Parkway West Middle opens and lets out, neighbor Bill Simon said.
“Adding any additional cars to Baxter Road at the opening and closing of school is insane,†Simon said.
Signees of the online petition echoed similar concerns.
“I think too many people have the ‘not in my backyard’ attitude,†one commenter wrote. “In this case, traffic and safety are real issues.â€
McCauley, a former dean at Principia College, said Galilee intended to be a “small, boutique school†with different drop-off and pickup hours than Parkway West Middle.
School leaders told Chesterfield city officials that Galilee would eventually have space for 320 children as it renovated the Noonan Farms property, but enrollment would average closer to 250, according to city records. It’d start with pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade and add grade levels as students grew older.
McCauley also said the plan was to eventually build a new school building there. They’re now looking for another location in west-central St. Louis County.
“We wish everybody the best and we’ll find the right solution for us,†McCauley said.
Galilee’s curriculum will be based on four pillars, according to the school’s application for a zoning variance: academics, spiritual education, character and virtue education and “patriotic or civic†education.
Galilee will still open this upcoming school year, but at an “intermediate†location, McCauley said. He declined to say where.
The school, though denominational, is not backed by any specific church, McCauley said. It’s funded by “individuals that support the idea,†he said.
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