by Mary Loden
Clear Lake Classical (CLC), established in 2014 as a private Christian school, will become the proud owners of the former Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Middle School, in Ventura, on Sept. 1 and they couldn’t be more excited.
The GHV School Board approved a resolution to sell their Ventura school property to KAH Enterprises, LLC of Clear Lake for $1.5 million after a June 12 public hearing.
Kent Hall, of KAH Enterprises, LLC, facilitated the sale under an agreement with Clear Lake Classical. Before the closing date Hall will transfer his purchase agreement to Clear Lake Classical, who will be the buyers at that time.
The sale includes the two-story main classroom building; a one-story former elementary classroom building; a bus barn and athletic fields.
“We will take possession early in September and do some renovation and [the] preparation of moving our upper class (7-12th grade) to the large school,” said Clear Lake Classical School Board member Gregg Nicholas. “We’re working on those plans right now, trying to get that done before we move into the building.”
Because the closing date for the sale occurs after school has already begun, the CLC School Board has made the decision to hold off moving into the Ventura location until the 24-25 school year. Currently, the school rents classroom space for the upper grades from Clear Lake Evangelical Free Church.
Nicholas said their current intention is to keep the lower class, grades PreK-6, at the 408 Mars Hill Drive location in Clear Lake.
After the GHV Middle School closed in 2019, due to declining enrollment and the cost of staffing and operating four buildings, the former elementary building was renamed the GHV Education Center and space was leased out to Redeemer Day Care Center and Four Oaks Family and Child Services.
Redeemer Day Care, which serves 196 children, had submitted a bid to purchase the elementary building. When the bid to purchase the entire Ventura school property was accept ed from KAH Enterprises, Kari Markla, director of Redeemer Day Care Center, admitted to being disappointed and was worried that they may have to vacate their premises.
“We are working with them,” Nicholas said, indicating that the day care center will remain right where it is.
“We’re pretty excited about [the new school],” Nicholas said. “It’s a great opportunity for us. It’s a win for Clear Lake Classical, it’s a win for the city of Ventura, and a win for Redeemer Preschool and Daycare. GHV wanted to get rid of these properties, so in a sense it is a win for them as well.”
Clear Lake Classical has approximately 140 PreK-12th grade students from Hancock, Cerro Gordo and Winnebago Counties and a 25-member staff.
“Our school has grown quite a bit in a fairly short amount of time and this will give us the facility to be able to continue for, hopefully, decades into the future,” Nicholas said.
