Christian School of Kingwood faces civil suit for alleged default on campus acquisition

The parking lot at Christian School of Kingwood lies deserted as students moved back to their old campus over spring break. The school now faces legal troubles in addition, or because of, a precarious financial situation. less The parking lot at Christian School of Kingwood lies deserted as students moved back to their old campus over spring break. The school now faces legal troubles in addition, or because of, a precarious financial ... more Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Christian School of Kingwood faces civil suit for alleged default on campus acquisition 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The building is dark, the playground abandoned. What started as a promising expansion for Christian School of Kingwood with the acquisition of the former Kingwood Athletic Club premises in June 2010 now appears to have become a dream of the past. The property is, once again, for sale. And a law suit is in the works.

On March 23, Kelly Interests Ltd. filed a petition in Harris County court, alleging breach of contract by Humble Area Christian Schools (doing business as Christian School of Kingwood) and five guarantors who co-signed the sale agreement and backed the acquisition by putting their own money on the line. Kelly Interests is pushing for foreclosure on the school in an effort to collect on the $1,111,500 sale of Kingwood Athletic Club, saying the school defaulted on its monthly payments of $12,600 to Kelly Interests.

“Defendant [Humble Area Christian Schools] became delinquent in the payment of the amounts due under the note by failing and refusing to pay,” the suit alleges. “Plaintiff gave written notice and demanded that defendant HACS cure the defaults. The defendant HACS failed and refused, and still fails and refuses, to remedy the defaults.”

At the time of the sale, co-defendants Todd Morte, school trustee Carol Sue Ling, former school administrator Linda Copeland and her husband Gates Copeland, and David Mierendorf, all signed their names on the dotted line as guarantors to the promissory note, pledging personal funds in various amounts ranging from $20,000 all the way to $100,000 for some to secure the sale in case of default.

According to the suit, the individual co-defendants “guaranteed repayment of the indebtedness” and “did not perform as agreed.” In the petition, Kelly Interests asks for “(a) foreclosing plaintiff’s lien on the real property pledged to secure the indebtedness due under the note and (b) ordering a sale of the property to satisfy the amounts due to plaintiff” as well as a “sale of the collateral to satisfy the amounts due to plaintiff.”

Kelly Interests also seeks attorneys fees in the case, saying the school and guarantors “expressly agreed to pay to plaintiff the attorneys fees incurred by plaintiff in collection of the obligations.”

TROUBLED PAST

In January, The Observer reported that Christian School of Kingwood had already put the Kingwood Athletic Club property up for sale as a result of financial woes. After 30 years of teaching young students the ways of math, spelling and - most importantly - Christ, the non-profit school struggled to stay alive.

CSK board member Jason Smith told The Observer at the time that the acquisition of the Kingwood Athletic Club property “was a great idea, but with all of the unexpected costs, it is hard.” School officials said that major repairs and maintenance complications with some areas of the campus quickly drained the Christian School of Kingwood budget.

Fundraisers organized to keep the school from the clutches of financial ruin brought little relief.

TIGHT LIPPED

The Observer left messages for the guarantors and co-defendants in the case, offering an opportunity to comment. No working phone number could be found for Mierendorf; Linda Copeland declined comment on the advice of her attorney; and Ling did not return the call. Neither did current CSK administrator Cynthia Bell, who took over after Linda Copeland’s retirement.

Christian School of Kingwood trustees have declined to comment on the school’s current troubles altogether. In an unsigned group email, they told The Observer, “At this time we are not going to comment on pending litigation.”

Even general questions went unanswered: How many students are enrolled? When was the Kingwood Athletic Club property put up for sale? How will the students be affected by the litigation and sale of the property? Will the school be forced to ultimately close its doors?

The Observer also asked when the school transitioned back to its old campus and received no answer. But Todd Morte, one of the guarantors and the only person willing to speak with the media, said the move happened over spring break.

RIDING ON FAITH

Morte, who pledged $20,000 of his personal funds to assist in the acquisition of Kingwood Athletic Club as a campus for Christian School of Kingwood, acknowledged that he is concerned about the pending litigation and the future of the school.

“I have a child that goes to the school. That’s the sad thing - it’s been an amazing experience to my children,” he said. “It’s been a blessing for them to be in an environment where Christ is first, and that’s what makes this so tough.”

Morte said he was pleased with the way the school communicated with parents during the transition from the new campus back to the old, and said the school did a “good job” of letting parents know what’s happening. He doesn’t know, he said, whether there are plans to close the school for good.

“What I hope is that the environment the kids are in can continue. I hope that in the end everyone can find a peaceful resolution that’s good for all parties involved, and that God is glorified through it all,” he said. “We depend on our faith. There’s a saying: God may not come when you want Him, but He’s always on time.”

As of Friday, March 30, no attorney of record had been listed for Christian School of Kingwood.