LANSING — Lansing Christian School was painted with graffiti, officials confirmed on Friday, May 15.
Two different messages were written, including “Board of untrustees” and “Jesus ≠ bigoted,” images shared with the Lansing State Journal showed. At least one of the messages was written above the school’s middle and high school entrance.
By 10:15 a.m., workers were at the school cleaning off the messages.
“Late last evening, LCS was vandalized with graffiti,” Head of School Jeremy Zajicek told the State Journal in an email. “We have turned the matter over to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. While we are saddened by the defacing of our school, we are praying for the individual responsible – that they would come to know the peace, truth, and grace of Christ.”
The vandalism comes after a months-long period of tension has seemingly reached a tipping point, with some families sharing on social media their plans to unenroll their students for the next school year, and many teachers planning not to return, according to communications shared with parents and forwarded to the State Journal.
Lansing Police Public Information Director Jordan Gulkis could not be reached for comment seeking information about the event.
The deadline for employees and families to share if they plan to return to the school for the following school year was Friday, May 15.
While tensions have grown at the school throughout the school year, the trouble became public when the school closed for two days in April because of a teacher walkout, which was in response to a decision by Zajicek not to renew the contracts of 11 employees, including Elementary Principal Justin Bolt and Middle and High School Principal Ryan Batson.
Since then, the school hosted its annual election for the Board of Trustees, where three new candidates who were supported by families and many staff were elected: Jason Crawford, Courtney Hart and Amanda Toy. The results of the election were announced during the May 11 association meeting, where the board also voted on the budget.
During the same meeting, the school’s board, which did not yet include the new candidates, did not approve the proposed budget for the following school, according to a message from the board to parents and obtained by the State Journal.
“As discussed at the meeting, there is currently higher than normal uncertainty around enrollment levels for next year,” the board wrote. “A vote was taken and the budget that was presented did not pass. Once there is more clarity on enrollment levels, the administration will update the proposed budget and bring it to the Board for approval. The Board will decide next steps from there as this outcome is not specifically contemplated in our governing documents and the next regularly scheduled Association meeting is not until November. The lack of a budget at the beginning of the year does not mean the school cannot operate, simply that expenditures would be governed by stated spending authorities within the policies.”
Reporter Ken Palmer contributed to the reporting of this article. Contact Karly Graham at kgraham@lsj.com. Follow her on X at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing Christian School vandalized as enrollment deadline looms
Reporting by Karly Graham, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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