Shasta County Supervisor Kevin Crye has plans to establish a school in Redding that an application says could have up to 200 students enrolled by its third year of operation.
Crye’s Northbound Academy applied for membership in the CIF Northern Section, the athletic governing body that high schools in Shasta and surrounding North State counties compete under.
The school’s application for admittance was on the Northern Section Board of Managers Feb. 4 meeting agenda. The application for Achor Point, a new school in Weed, also was on the same agenda.
Northern Section Commissioner Scott Johnson said the board took no action and the item was tabled to the board’s April 22 meeting because more information was needed for the board to act. The April meeting will be held at the Shasta Union High School District office on Eureka Way in Redding.
Reached by text message, Crye, who represents the county’s 1st District and is running for reelection in June, deflected commenting about his plans to start a new school, and instead told a Record Searchlight reporter to report on stories that matter to the community.
On the Northern Section application form, Crye lists projected enrollment for the school at 50 the first year, 100 the second year and 200 the third year. He does not state what grades the school would teach.
Crye lists himself as Northbound Academy’s executive director. Hayden Barnhurst is listed as principal.
Barnhurst is office manager for California Adventure Camps, according to the business’ website. Crye is the company’s CEO. The Redding business operates several different types of sports camps, including football, baseball, basketball and archery.
California Department of Education (CDE) spokesman Scott Roark said Northbound Academy filed a “Private School Affidavit” for 2025-26. He said all private schools in California are required to file an affidavit.
The CDE does not approve affidavits.
“Filing the PSA does not explicitly, nor implicitly, constitute approval, endorsement, validation, or certification by the California Department of Education (CDE). The information filed in the Affidavit is not verified by the CDE and the CDE takes no position as to its accuracy,” the CDE website states.
On the Northern Section application, Crye lists Northbound Academy’s address as 900 Dana Drive, which is the same address of his Ninja Coalition Gym at the Mt. Shasta Mall.
Ninja Coalition for years has had a financial stake in public education as the business works with schools across the state. Last August, about 500 attended the Visalia Unified School District’s community night that featured the Ninja Coalition Challenge Course, according to the Visalia Times-Delta.
Meanwhile, Northbound Academy would join the Northern Section as an independent, meaning the school would not have a league affiliation, according to its application.
The sports the school would compete in for the 2026-27 school year are boys basketball, and boys track and field, the application states.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly “Buzz on the Street” column.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta supervisor plans new Redding school, seeks section membership
Reporting by David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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