Stone Ridge Christian begins work on new campus

After searching for land for a new campus since its inception 15 years ago, Stone Ridge Christian High School finally found a location and will break ground on the project Friday.

About a year ago, the school purchased 53 acres on Dan Ward Road, near Santa Fe Drive. On Friday, construction will begin on the new school, which will include classrooms for secondary education, Principal Randy Postmus said. It’s the first step to the school’s vision of having a campus for preschool through high school that includes a gym, chapel, and sports fields.

Construction on the first phase is scheduled to wrap up for the 2017-18 school year.

“It’s an exciting time to be part of this positive wave of energy and momentum,” Postmus said. “It’s an answer to prayer, and we’re hoping to enhance the community.”

Stone Ridge Christian, which enrolls about 130 students, has been in portable classrooms behind First Baptist Church of Merced on M Street for about 15 years. Five years ago, the school added Providence Christian School, which enrolls about 210 students in preschool through eighth grade. Providence is at Yosemite Church on Yosemite Avenue.

“It was always supposed to be a temporary site at First Baptist,” said Jennifer Hooker, the school’s board president.

Students attend more than 20 different churches and come from communities including Merced, Atwater, El Nido, Los Banos and Madera.

Once finished, the campus is expected to cost $20 million and double the number of jobs at Stone Ridge.

School officials hope the community will take advantage of services offered by the new campus, which is in the Beachwood-Franklin area and across the street from Santa Fe Pet Hospital. They hope to rent out the multipurpose facility and chapel and open up the fields for sports leagues.

“One of our core values is community,” Hooker said. “To build a community with our school and bring value to the community.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Stone Ridge Christian begins work on new campus."