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October 6, 2000/7 Tishri 5761, Vol. 53, No.2
Temple Chai leases to high school
LEISAH NAMM
Staff Writer
The interim site for the Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School will be built on a three-acre area of land owned by Temple Chai in Phoenix, according to Jay M. Schechter, headmaster.
The agreement between the high school and Temple Chai is a lease purchase, said Marlyne Freedman, executive director of the temple.
In other words, rather than paying rent, the high school "will be building (the facility) for Temple Chai," she said.
Freedman said that the building will be the first part of Temple Chai's educational center and will be used for Hebrew school and other classes on weekends and evenings.
Deborah Harris, president of the high school's board of directors, said she felt it was important that funds that would have otherwise been spent on facility rental will now be used for a permanent addition to the educational infrastructure of the Jewish community.
The fact that a high school run by an Orthodox headmaster will have its first location at a Reform synagogue is a major step for the Valley's Jewish community, said Rabbi William Berk of Temple Chai. "It used to be that everybody was in competition; everybody was protecting their turf," he said. "We're changing the paradigm in this city.
"We're sending a message of cooperation and partnership and people working together, and it's wonderful."
Groundbreaking for the 7,000 square-foot building, designed by the architectural firm of CCBG, is anticipated for January 2001, with completion slated for July 2001. The school is scheduled to begin classes for ninth and 10th grades in August 2001.
The building will include classrooms, a science laboratory, administrative office and computer center.
The school's permanent location will eventually be at the Ida Levine Jewish Community Campus at Scottsdale Road and Sweetwater Avenue in Scottsdale. The Campus is scheduled to be complete in 2002. Although the school will be built on the grounds of Temple Chai, the school is not affiliated with the temple, said Schechter.
"We are building a freestanding structure on the land that's next to the main sanctuary at Temple Chai," he added.
Funds for the construction are included in the school's capital budget. "Cost of tuition is strictly to pay for cost of education," Harris said.
High school registration packets should be ready by the end of the month, Harris said.
Temple Chai is located at 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix.
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