T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY As school leaders continue to lead fundraising efforts for a planned expansion of the K-8 facility, the annual Marshalltown Christian School (MCS) Royals Gala fundraiser will be held on Saturday, April 18 at the school building, located at 1408 S. 7th Ave., beginning at 6 p.m.

The leaders and supporters of the Marshalltown Christian School (MCS) have big plans for continued growth and expansion of their facility located at 1408 S. 7th Ave., and ahead of the upcoming Royals Gala fundraising event on Saturday, April 18, School Administrator Bethany Wirin spoke to the T-R about where they stand and what the future holds.

According to Wirin, overall K-8 enrollment is holding steady at 120 students, which is intentional after the major growth over the last two years since the state legislature implemented the Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) program for families who choose to send their children to nonpublic school settings. The goal, she said, is to move the outdoor field to make room for an expansion including four new classrooms as some classes are currently being held inside of nearby Journey Church.

“We are very thankful that that’s an option for us, so we don’t have to go even further. That’s been great, but it would be nice to be all under one roof,” Wirin said.

Wirin and her board members plan to lay out their plans for the expansion and water retention work during the upcoming Royals Gala, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the school on April 18.

“Our plans continue, so we’ve got a master plan, and then the board committed to the engineering plans, design and the construction documents. So that’s a big chunk of money that we have just set aside for building,” Wirin said. “Since we’ve paid off this building, people have continued to contribute to a building fund, basically… So that work is underway, and the fundraising for the expansion itself has just begun, just started this calendar year.”

The total cost of the project is estimated at about $3 million, and Wirin said they will need to have 80 to 85 percent of it on hand — $2.5 million — to move forward. She foresees a potential opening date of the fall of 2028.

“But if the Lord just says ‘Here, do it now,’ then we’ll do it now and open in the fall of ’27. That would be amazing,” she said.

The decision to hold the Gala at the school arose out of a desire to highlight the building needs, and it will also show off the recently completed library renovation. The ESA tuition money covers the operational budget of the school, but it cannot be put toward facility expansions.

“This year we hope to raise $90,000 toward the following meaningful initiatives: Enriching our students’ learning with more experiences both inside and outside the school walls (and) supporting the engineering costs for Phase 2 of our building plan,” Wirin said.

The Gala will feature music from Donna Svendsen, a catered meal and decorations by Luisa Ortega. The registration deadline is Saturday, and anyone interested in attending can either stop by the school or call (641) 753-8824 during regular business hours.

Wirin, who has held her current title since the 2017-2018 school year, said she continues to put students first as part of the MCS mission to provide a Christ-centered education for local children.

“It’s hard, right now, to say yes (to new students) because of the space. We have a couple classrooms that are very small and frankly don’t fit that many children…

We want kids to be able to move around,” she said. “I feel like I’m in constant improvement mode, trying to always learn from mistakes and move the school in a healthy direction for the mission.”

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.