Kansas City Christian School president Allan Chugg has confirmed that the organization’s board of directors is in talks with RED Development about purchasing Mission Valley Middle School – which RED acquired from the Shawnee Mission District just two months ago.
RED spokesman Dave Claflin said no formal bid for the property has been put in place, and there is no deadline for getting a deal done, but that the groups were exploring the possibility of a sale.
“We’re open to anything,” Claflin said. “Obviously, the further we get along in the comprehensive planning process [being conducted by Prairie Village for the Mission Valley site], the more cumbersome things become. But we’re talking about some different options.”
Kansas City Christian currently holds the majority of its classes in the former Ridgeview Elementary school near the intersection of 79th Street and Roe Avenue. When the Shawnee Mission District announced last year that it would be closing Mission Valley, many people speculated that Kansas City Christian would have an interest in the property since it is nearing capacity in its current facility.
Shawnee Mission prefers not to sell its school buildings directly to private schools, but there is nothing in its sales agreement with RED that would prevent the developer for reselling the property to Kansas City Christian.
