Masada Lindfield sale finally under way

MASADA College president David Guth hopes to have preschool kids at the college’s St Ives campus by the middle of the year, after confirming to The AJN that contracts have finally been exchanged with a buyer for its Lindfield campus.

The Masada College board initially announced it had sold the property in early 2014; however, conditions agreed to between the college and the buyer in question were not realised.

Guth told The AJN that the impending settlement – with some minor conditions to be met – meant the college could press ahead with its consolidation plans.

“This really allows us to … build the new preschool facilities that we require in order to bring the preschool up from Lindfield to the St Ives campus,” he said.

“This is something that the school has been working on for a number of years.

“Obviously those that are still at Lindfield are looking forward to joining the St Ives campus, so we see this as the final step in what has been a very long-term plan.”

He said he hoped to have the preschool operating in St Ives within six months. “That’s our early target, obviously we need to take a few other steps and we’re well into planning for that,” he said.

“It’s really a matter of being able to close out the contract and then commit the funding.”

As part of the long-term consolidation plan, Masada College primary school students joined their high school counterparts at the beginning of the 2014 school year.

The move to one campus will save the school – which has been struggling for the past few years – millions of dollars over the next 10 years, as well as providing a raft of additional benefits.

“Our long-term future as a school is really governed by enrolments and we’ve seen a steady flow this year from previous years, so I think at this point in time we can say that the future of the school is looking good,” Guth said.

He added that he hoped the college’s new footing would attract more Jewish families to the area.

“We’ve put in a number of new initiatives and – along with the fantastic results that we get from the senior school level year in, year out – we do hope this provides an attractive solution to families looking to establish themselves,” he said.

GARETH NARUNSKY

Former Masada president Trevor Lorge and college principal Wendy Barel with primary school students at the St Ives campus.