JOHNSTON COUNTY — Ashley Edwards was ready for the pomp and circumstance of her senior year of high school. Then word came that Johnston Christian Academy would close its doors.

“She’s real upset; she’s already saved up some money to buy her class ring,” said Diane Edwards, Ashley’s mother. “I don’t know where she’s going to be graduating from.”

First Assembly of God in Smithfield, which sponsored the K-12 Christian school, announced in June that JCA would close amid falling enrollment and troubled finances.

“When you don’t have the resources and the revenues coming in, you’re caught in a position to make hard decisions,” said Donnie Powell, a longtime member of First Assembly. “It had been struggling for a long time.”

Diane Edwards said students had heard a few announcements and rumors over the year, including one that the school would be able to stay open. But by the end of the school year, the verdict was final.

Since then, JCA parents and students have weighed other schools while a steering committee has searched for a church to host a new school.

“I’m talking with a church but haven’t heard anything,” said Chris Dentel, JCA’s last principal. “As time drags on, the hope is lessened.”

Because JCA was Johnston County’s only K-12 Christian school, its closing leaves the families of about 150 students with few local options. For a religious education, parents could send their kids to Lighthouse Christian Academy near McGee’s Crossroads, but the school serves only grades K-8. As an alternative to a traditional public school, parents could opt for Neuse Charter School, the county’s lone charter school.

The charter school has had dozens more applications this year, said Dr. Patricia Harris, the school’s director. She said a few applications this week were probably from JCA students, and she expects more requests over the summer.

For JCA’s high school students, public school seems a looming choice.

Public school “would be fine for my smaller children, but I need [a private school] especially for my oldest child,” said Dawn Creech, who had three children in JCA. “She would not do well in public school.”

Her high school-aged daughter, Brittany Turner, said her friends seemed likely to splinter into different schools next year. “We basically wouldn’t be able to see each other any more, and that would be pretty upsetting,” said Turner, a six-year JCA student. I f parents and staff don’t get a new school open in time, they will have at least one out-of-county option.

Community Christian School in Wilson, a K-12 school, has offered to arrange busing for Johnston County students, said Bryan Walker, JCA’s former athletic director. Last week, the school hired Walker and his mother, Terry Littleton, and Walker said they are trying to take in as many JCA teachers and students as they can.

“They’re really reaching out to us with arms wide open,” Walker said. “It seemed like God just opened that door for us.”

Community Christian will host an open house for JCA parents at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2. The school is about 30 miles from JCA.

“The only drawback is the distance, the driving,” said Diane Edwards. “We’re just going to have to play it by ear and see how it goes.”

After the split

At First Assembly of God, JCA’s former host, members say the church community has been saddened by the loss of the school.

On both sides, opinions on the closing can get heated. Edwards and some other parents say they are unsure when they will get back registration money they paid for next year.

Meanwhile, Powell, of First Assembly, says the church has taken unfair heat about a delicate situation. “I didn’t really approve of some of the talk that’s been going on,” he said. “It’s just a hard situation.”

Walker added that the church was working through complex finances and paperwork to complete the closing process. Last week, the church contacted parents to tell them how to get transcripts. A church board member could not be reached before press time for comment about the registration money.

“[The board] is trying to be Christ-like and do things in a Christian manner, and I can say that wholeheartedly,” said Powell. “[The church] board has had to make the toughest decisions ever in the history of the church.”