WHILE the Town of Bassendean council has endorsed a new two-year lease to Casa Mia Montessori Community School at 11 Hamilton Street, the school has expressed disappointment in the decision.

The new two-year lease was endorsed last week without extension or holding over options, ending December 31, 2029, despite the school requesting a four-year extension to allow the school time to transition to a new larger site.

Casa Mia Principal Samantha Leyton said the Town of Bassendean’s decision not to grant a four-year lease extension was disappointing.

“This outcome places additional pressure on our proposed timeline to transition to a new site, and we will need to adjust our planning accordingly,” she said.

“Despite this, Casa Mia remains committed to its relocation project and to the long-term future of the school. We will continue to do everything we can to see the relocation succeed.”

The decision follows multiple lease extensions over the course of 26 years, since the school initially began as a small group of home-schooling families in 1999.

The site was initially leased to the school on a recurring one-year basis.

In 2009, after adoption of the town centre area strategy, the school was given notice that the current site would not be a permanent site for the school.

The town then offered four further lease extensions from 2009: in 2010, 2012, 2012-2017 and then a final five-year lease with a five-year option extending the current lease until December 31, 2027.

“The town understands the school’s need for continuity for its students and families as they transition to a new site and has demonstrated its willingness to support this transition with the multiple lease extensions and options provided to Casa Mia to secure the site over many years,” a spokesperson said.

The parcel of land currently used by the school as a playground will be returned to BIC Reserve, providing additional public open space for the broader community and to cater for the expected increased urban density over time.

As Casa Mia transitions to its new site, the town will commence plans to redevelop the land for the benefit of the community, in line with the adopted town centre master plan and soon to be released town centre precinct structure plan.

“Details of any future development will be made available as plans progress,” a Town spokesperson said.

A Casa Mia Montessori Community School spokesperson said the school requested a further lease extension to allow the school time to complete construction of a new campus.

The request follows the town’s direction to vacate to make way for the site’s redevelopment into high density housing.

Following a 2022 town decision not to extend the school’s lease beyond 2027, to enable the town to sell the land for residential development purposes, Casa Mia has worked to secure a new home and is now close to making that vision a reality.

After exploring many nearby sites and finding none were viable or fit-for-purpose, the school has engaged with property developer Hesperia, who are developing in the nearby suburb of Viveash.

Subject to final negotiations, the school intends to execute a contract to purchase a parcel of land in Viveash within the coming months.

A brand-new campus will be built on this site, with construction to be completed by 2031.

This relocation project has a projected cost of $7 million – a huge undertaking for a small not-for-profit primary school, particularly considering the rent of the current site being $20,000 per annum.

The school’s active P&F, voluntary board, and dedicated principal, teachers, and staff have diligently built a modest but robust financial foundation for the school to secure its long-term operations and make this relocation project viable.

Since receiving notice in 2022 that it would need to vacate its long-time home, Casa Mia has undertaken an extensive and resource-intensive search for a new site.

The school has engaged project managers, financial advisers, legal counsel, architects and quantity surveyors to assess the viability of relocating to a parcel of land in the nearby Viveash development.

Ms Leyton said the school had committed to relocating to a new site at a projected cost of $7m, following the town’s decision to end its lease after more than 25 years.

“After an exhaustive search for a suitable site, we are now in final negotiations to purchase land in Viveash and begin the process of building a new school,” she said.

“But we need more time to finish what we’ve started.

“We are asking the Town of Bassendean to extend our lease to 2031, to give our community the certainty and stability it urgently needs.”

Ms Leyton said the current lease expiry in late 2027 posed a serious threat to the school’s ability to sustain enrolments and secure finance for the new build.

Casa Mia employs 17 staff and currently educates 73 children from pre-Kindy to Year 6, as well as offering a playgroup for children as young as 18-months-old.