JOHNSTON COUNTY — Johnston Christian Academy parents and staff and the school’s former host, First Assembly of God, continued last week to tidy up the mess left by the school’s closing.

The church said it planned to return by week’s end the tuition and fees some families had paid in advance of the 2009-10 school year.

“We’re in the process of giving what they’re owed,” said Jim Byrd, chairman of the church’s board. “We’re doing our best to make things right with everybody.”

Parents found out that the school’s 19th year would be its last when the church’s board announced that First Assembly would no longer host JCA.

By last week, at least two families had filed small claims against the church or school. Wesley and Jillane Brown were seeking a $5,000 tuition refund, while Linwood and Donna Smith said they were owed about $8,500 in tuition for their two children. The families had paid for next year early, only to find out that the school would not re-open.

“We’re really upset about it,” Donna Smith said last week as she waited for news on her money.

Two days later, Byrd told a Herald reporter that all parents would be repaid their tuition and fees. According to Smith, the church repaid the Brown family the day before their July 8 court date. Last Friday, Smith said, the church told her she would be repaid within days.

Meanwhile, Diane Edwards, another parent, said dozens of parents had been waiting on a refimd for an $85 registration fee they paid this year. Byrd said the church would repay that money by week’s end too.

The church also paid teachers’ wages for June and July, their last contracted months.

“They’re making the payments now,” said Bryan Walker, JCA’s former athletic director. “They’re just trying to make things right.”

Some parents might still have a qualm with the church, though: Parents raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a new gym that is now owned outright by the church, Walker said.

The church is now handling payments on the $1.1 million gym, but Walker says parents still have a claim to it.

“I think that’s more than fair that the kids that went to JCA should be allowed to use it,” he said.

As the end of summer looms, JCA parents continue to search for new schools. A steering committee is trying to get a new school together for next year, but some parents say it will likely take longer than that.

“There’s no hope,” said Smith. Her children will likely attend Neuse Charter School, while other parents are considering public school or Christian schools elsewhere.