Chinese Schools Appeal Classroom Rent Hike
Two Chinese-language schools facing hefty rent increases for classroom space in Irvine public schools appealed for help this week from the City Council.
Citing rising energy and cleaning costs, Irvine Unified School District voted this month to raise the rent for the Irvine Chinese School by nearly 300% and the Tzu-Chi Academy by more than 100%.
The nonprofit schools, which are not affiliated with the district, rent classroom space on weekends to teach Chinese culture and language to more than 1,200 youngsters. Rent increases would force higher tuition, and many students would drop out, school officials said.
Irvine City Councilman Chris Mears asked his colleagues to discuss the issue at its June 12 meeting. “This sort of rent increase is unconscionable,” he said. “It carries with it the risk of driving these Chinese schools out of the city, and that would be an enormous loss.”
The council has no jurisdiction over the school board but might help negotiate a compromise, Mears said.
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