The church remains committed to offering the greatest level of transparency. As such, we are providing the below information regarding the expiration of the lease term with the school.
- On October 2, 2023, the Palm Beach County Civil Court signed an order granting the motion to dismiss. Click here to view the Motion to Dismiss Order.
- On September 6, 2023, the church filed a motion to dismiss that was heard by the Court.
- On February 20, 2023, the Plaintiffs’ (the school’s) Emergency Motion for Temporary Injunction was respectfully denied by the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida. Click here to read the Order in its entirety.
Here is the timeline of events leading to the Order issued by the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida:
- On Thursday, April 21, 2022, the church delivered a letter of lease expiration to the school. The lease, agreed to and signed by both the senior warden and current chair of the school board, with the November 30, 2022 expiration has been in effect since December 1, 2012. The letter doesn’t address “closing of the school” as the church does not have any control over school operations, it only serves as the school’s landlord. Click here to read the letter dated April 21, 2022.
- On Friday, April 22, 2022, church and school leadership each spoke with a representative from the National Association of Episcopal Schools- both the church and the school agreed to jointly select a third-party mediator and to schedule joint meetings to arrive at terms mutually agreeable to both parties.
- The church planned to distribute communication via email to update its congregation on Friday, April 22, 2022, however after a request from school leadership, that communication was delayed to Saturday, April 23, 2022, after the school leadership distributed its notification to school stakeholders. The church’s communication and the school’s communication were shared with each other prior to distribution.
- On Saturday, April 23, 2022, an email was sent to the head of school requesting his preferences for interviewing, selecting, and setting up joint meetings through a third-party mediator. There was no response to that email.
- On Sunday, April 24, 2022, a second email was sent to the head of school requesting his preferences for interviewing, selecting, and setting up joint meetings through a third-party mediator. There was no response to that email.
- On Sunday, April 24, 2022, members of the school protested in front of the church.
- On Monday, April 25, 2022, a letter was delivered to school leadership respectfully requesting a response to set up joint meetings through a mutually selected third-party mediator. Click here to view the letter dated April 25, 2022.
- On the evening of April 25, 2022, school leadership responded via email to the request to set up third-party mediator interviews.
- On April 26, 2022, church leadership let school leadership know that it was working on securing dates for interviews with third-party mediators.
- On April 27, 2022, church leadership sent two third-party mediator options for school leadership to review and included potential interview dates. Both school leadership and church leadership would both have an opportunity to interview and select a third-party mediator.
- Despite agreeing to engage a mutually selected third-party mediator, school leadership publicly announced it retained legal counsel to take legal action against the church on the evening of April 27, 2022.
- In an attempt to maintain a more amicable solution, church leadership reached out to school leadership on the morning of April 28, 2022 to ask if they would like to begin mediation on Monday, May 2, 2022 to expedite the hope of arriving at terms that are mutually agreeable to both parties.
- On April 28, 2022, both the church and the school leadership teams agreed to schedule a third-party mediation session for Monday, May 2, 2022.
- The school and the church leadership teams mutually agreed to continue mediation sessions with the firm Salmon & Dulberg. The next mediation session was scheduled for May 17, 2022.
- On May 16, 2022, the school leadership team canceled the mediation session scheduled for May 17, 2022.
- On Friday, May 27, 2022, the school and church jointly announced they had reached an arrangement that will enable the school to continue operating on the church’s property through June 30, 2023. Click here to read the joint announcement issued by the school and the church.
- School leadership initiated legal action and the issue came before the Court for an evidentiary hearing on January 19, 2023, on Plaintiffs’ Emergency Motion for Temporary Injunction.
- On February 20, 2023, the Plaintiffs’ (the school’s) Emergency Motion for Temporary Injunction was respectfully denied by the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida. Click here to read the Order in its entirety.
- On September 6, 2023, the church filed a motion to dismiss that was heard by the Court.
- On October 2, 2023, the Palm Beach County Civil Court signed an order granting the motion to dismiss. Click here to view the Motion to Dismiss Order.