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High Desert Christian Academy pitches educational campus at former hospital; asks Crook County for letter of support
Summary
High Desert Christian Academy presented a plan to convert the former hospital at 1201 Northeast Elm Street into a multi‑use educational campus offering early childhood care, K–12 programming, dual enrollment and trade training, and requested a county letter of support to strengthen grant funding applications.
High Desert Christian Academy on Wednesday outlined plans to convert the former hospital at 1201 Northeast Elm Street into a multi‑use educational campus and asked the Crook County Commission for a letter of community support that the school can include in grant proposals.
Mandy Puckett, community relations director for High Desert Christian Academy, said the campus vision would include early‑childhood care (8 weeks to 5 years), after‑school and K–12 classrooms, dual‑enrollment opportunities with the local school district, and space for trade and vocational training. Maggie Hale, the school’s principal, described current operations: the program serves infants through 12th grade, has 50 children in daycare with approval for 30 more, and received a Neighborhood Impact grant that Puckett and Hale said provided $250,000 for remodeling and staffing.
Presenters said the Crook County School District has expressed support but is not currently in a financial position to acquire additional buildings; trade‑training partners including Baker Technical Institute and consultants who worked on the study were named as potential collaborators. The presenters emphasized a phased approach — preliminary assessments and appraisals first, followed by partner commitments and targeted remodel work — and said they have collected nearly 200 signatures from local businesses, parents and community partners to demonstrate local buy‑in.
Commissioner (Speaker 9) moved that the county provide a letter of support and Commissioner (Speaker 2) seconded the motion; commissioners directed staff to work with the presenters on a shared draft that can be added to next week’s consent or discussion agenda so HDCA can include it with grant applications. No formal roll‑call vote on a final letter text appears in the transcript; staff agreed to prepare the draft and coordinate with city council materials.
The presenters asked the county’s help primarily to (1) provide a letter showing county support for grant applications, (2) consider in‑kind or financial contributions to demonstrate partner buy‑in to funders, and (3) identify feasible sites for outdoor trades and athletic uses. The presenters noted staffing constraints for childcare and said some indoor trades could be accommodated with minor remodeling while outdoor trades would require separate partner sites and land‑use planning.
The commission did not take a final funding action during the meeting; the requested next step is a staff‑prepared draft letter to appear on the commission’s agenda for formal consideration.
