Chamblee Private School Closes After 45 Years

As DeKalb County schools prepare to close for the summer, one small Chamblee private school is closing its doors forever.

The Cross & Crown School, which began in 1967, will cease operations on Thursday, May 24. A long-simmering dispute between the private Christian school and its landlord, the Cross & Crown Lutheran Church, has resulted in the school’s closure.

“We have a slogan at our entrance that says, ‘Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends,’” said Dr. Steven Mayo, school principal. “This place is like a family where every student is loved and encouraged to succeed.

“But now, 76 students and 15 staff members have to find a new home.”

In 1997, the school incorporated as a separate entity from the church. Mayo said the church made an attempt to gain a majority share of votes on the school’s board, but was unsuccessful.

Over the Christmas 2011 holidays, Mayo said the school was served with an eviction notice, “which was slid under our door on the Friday before Christmas Day,” he said. “That was quite a merry Christmas for all of us at the school.”

After litigation that allowed the school to remain on the premise until the end of the current school year, the school tried to raise enough money to keep its door open, to no avail.

“Embarking on a successful capital campaign in this economy is next to impossible,” said Brookhaven resident Jennifer Parker, who has two sons enrolled at Cross & Crown. “This school has been like a second family to us, and to have all of that taken away by a church is unconscionable.”

When contacted for this article, Cross & Crown Lutheran Church Pastor Dr. Gary Christensen sent the following correspondence, on the advice of church attorneys:

“The dispute between the parties is a matter of public record in numerous court filings and the church has no public comment on that dispute. Two weeks ago the school board made the decision to cease operations. The church has begun exploring options for alternative uses of the space previously occupied by the school and plans to use that space to serve the surrounding community.”

Mayo said the church wanted to increase rent from $2,400 to $7,800 a month. “We couldn’t afford that much in the first place,” he said. “But this facility is run down and in bad need of repair. The church has not been keeping the property up.”

Parker agreed. “The space is in bad condition,” she said. “But we wanted to send our kids there because of the level of academics and the small class sizes.

“Now, we don’t know what we’ll do.”