The Future at Prince Avenue Christian School
The school has optimized its student enrollment with mission-fit families and has adjusted its focus from enrollment growth to expanding and enhancing its current facilities to meet the changing needs of its students.
The school is engaged in a three-phased capital building program, and it completed Phase I in the summer of 2022 with the completion of a $4.2 million-dollar 20,000-square-foot middle school building. With Phase I complete and remaining debt-free, we are excited to begin Phases II and III. These phases will provide additional athletic and fine arts facilities for our students, and we covet your prayers as we move forward with this process.
Phase I: “Now It’s Time” Capital Campaign – Complete
With the generous donations of our supporters, we completed a 4.2 million dollar campaign in August 2022.
- Construction of 20,000 square foot middle school building
To address our need for additional instructional space, we completed a 20,000-square-foot middle school building on the southern side of campus. This building contains 12 classrooms, two science laboratories, a tutoring center, a student technology support center, administrative offices, and a teacher workroom. The building’s location required minimal site preparation, thus enabling the vast majority of gifts to be used towards building construction and furnishings.
- Purchase of 14 acres of land
We purchased the fourteen acres of land that borders Highway 78 to avoid retail development and maintain the integrity of our campus. The property will expand the school’s athletic facilities to be completed in Phase 3.
Phase II: Future Additional Gymnasium and Expanded Fine Arts Instructional Space
This approximately 16,000-square-foot building will include a second full-sized indoor gymnasium and additional fine arts instructional space. The gymnasium will include seats for 600 spectators, locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and all the equipment required for formal athletic competitions and our physical education program. The additional fine arts instructional space will include a new band room, practice rooms, instrument storage, a music library, and additional practice space for our performing arts program to complement our current facilities. The building’s location requires minimal site preparation, thus enabling the vast majority of gifts to be used towards building construction and furnishings.
Phase III: Future Development of 14 Acres & Expansion of Athletic Complex
The development of the fourteen acres purchased in Phase I will provide much-needed athletic practice fields, tennis courts, and a multipurpose venue to include locker rooms while reducing usage, repair, and maintenance costs for our existing facilities. The installation of tennis courts will eliminate our need to bus students to rented, off-campus locations for practices and competitions. The acquisition of the property in Phase 1 ensures the integrity of the campus by preventing any retail development, eliminates concerns about local traffic on and around the campus, and improves campus security. The master plan for this project was approved by the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on September 13, 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are using our current Wolverine Gymnasium to its full capacity for practice, games, PE classes, and school events. With lower school, middle school, JV, and varsity teams across multiple sports, we are renting additional gym space at multiple locations throughout the area in order to meet the demand and often need to provide bus transportation for our teams in order to practice.
A new band room and additional fine arts instructional space will allow us to offer fine arts to more students. At this time, we are limited in the classes and co-curricular opportunities we can offer because of space limitations. The church’s middle school auditorium is presently serving as the band room; therefore, the room has to be reset for both band classes and church activities. Our current performing arts rehearsal spaces and classrooms will not accommodate the size of our classes and our current rehearsal demands.
The 14 acres of athletic facilities and new structures will be completed in phases. Initial site work and utility infrastructure will be installed first followed by the completion of athletic fields and building structures. Donors interested in supporting specific phases of this capital improvement project are encouraged to contact the school’s development office.
The PACS Annual Fund is an annual fundraising campaign that raises critical, unrestricted dollars to supplement the operating budget. It offsets the difference between the basics that tuition covers and the full cost of running the school. Capital Campaigns are fundraising campaigns to meet large-scale future needs such as a building or endowment that is vitally important for improvement and expansion.
Both are important, as PACS must continue to fund current operating needs while simultaneously making major acquisitions and improvements to fulfill our mission. While it is important to look and plan for the future (capital), we must first be intentional of our needs today (annual). Sustained growth of the Annual Fund will ensure immediate needs are always met.