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Nadine Zerbe, former vice principal at Mokelumne River School, will now become the principal at Lodi Christian School. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)
Making a new start
Ex-Mokelumne River faculty start school across street
ACAMPO — The strife at Mokelumne River School has been distilled down to a simple morning driving decision: "Do you turn left or do you turn right?"
From the Frontage Road exit off northbound Highway 99, those who have chosen to stay at Mokelumne River will turn left, to a school they've always known, but which has become plagued with controversy since an asbestos discovery and alleged cover-up.
Those who intend to leave Mokelumne River will go right, to Lodi Christian School, a byproduct of that controversy.
The founders of Lodi Christian say it is an attempt to start a school that teaches the principles they adhere to. Classes begin April 1.
Founded by former teachers, trustees and other concerned community members of Mokelumne River, Lodi Christian found a home at Calvary Bible Church, a little more than a stone's throw from Mokelumne River on the west side of Highway 99.
Its new principal is Nadine Zerbe, who was let go from her post as vice principal at Mokelumne River.
Zerbe and the school's teachers and co-founders held a meeting Wednesday night to present their plan to parents — many of them burned by the dustup — and to drum up enrollment.
Approximately 150 people attended the meeting, which took place at Calvary Bible Church.
"I think we skipped summer and went straight to Thanksgiving and Christmas," Zerbe said about the excitement surrounding the school at the meeting.
Organizers of Wednesday's meeting kept references to Mokelumne River and the asbestos controversy at a minimum, referring to the school as "over there" and "the school across the street."
Still in its infancy, Lodi Christian already has classrooms, a set tuition and a yearbook in the works.
Organizers say money for the school will come from tuition and fundraising.
Students who enroll at Lodi Christian will be able to finish out their third quarter of school there and will have the opportunity to return next year.
Where the school will land next year is somewhat up in the air, but Gary Silva, a parent and former member of Mokelumne River's board, said the school already has two offers from local churches to be Lodi Christian's future home. The school is currently renting space from Calvary Bible Church.
"If you don't feel blessed right now ... I don't know. I don't have anything else to offer you," Silva said about the future opportunities for the school at Wednesday night's meeting.
Silva was quick to note that the offers are just that — offers. The school still has to go through a lot of steps before settling on a future location.
"We want to make sure we're not making any assumptions," Silva said on Thursday.
Organizers also insist that their new school is not an attempt to strike out against the Mokelumne River's administration, but a way to provide the Christian education that they want for their children.
"This was not meant to be a surprise to anybody in this room or a power play," said Randy Thomas, one of the Lodi Christian's organizers.
Zerbe said, if anything, the new school is a byproduct of prayer.
"Prayer changes things," she said.
It's unclear how many students Mokelumne River has lost to Lodi Christian.
— Source: Lodi Christian School.
Mokelumne River Superintendent Shannon Woodard was unavailable for comment Thursday.
At one point in Wednesday's meeting, an audience member asked the teachers, whose last day at Mokelumne River was Thursday, what they were going to tell the children.
First-grade teacher Joann Butler said even though her students are young, they know something's up. She can tell by the way they lay all over her during story time.
"What I'm going to tell the kids tomorrow? I will tell them I love them, and I will never stop loving them," Butler said.
Contact reporter Amanda Dyer at amandad@lodinews.com.
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