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Wednesday night's Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association meeting saw an increase in teenage members.

Held at Temple Coffee's 28th and S streets location, the meeting was attended by Country Day high school students and several faculty members, including headmaster Steve Repsher. Though a long permit process lies ahead, the school is closer to the goal of moving into the vacant Newton Booth School, 2600 V St., by August.

The neighborhood group consisted of residents from three areas: Poverty Ridge, Newton Booth and Alhambra Triangle. Richard "Bud" Halliday, Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association president, welcomed the school's representatives and invited them to attend future meetings.

Last month, Repsher identified two major hurdles the school needs to clear before moving the private high school students into the building: being granted a Special Use Permit by the city and raising $1.8 million to complete the first phase of reconstruction, which will renovate the first floor for classroom use.

The pre-K to 12th grade school, now in the suburban Sierra Oaks neighborhood east of the central city, has 520 pre-K and elementary students and 152 high school students that Repsher said he hopes to move into the first floor of the Newton Booth campus by August. It will fulfill a dual campus vision first imagined by Dan White, the school's headmaster 20 years ago.

Repsher said that a planning committee likely will convene in January to plan for the move. Repsher said he hopes the school can accommodate at least 100 more high school students, and expand beyond the first floor over the next several decades.

Since hearing about the possible move last spring, the neighborhood has welcomed the school. Last month, Halliday told The Sacramento Press that the situation is a "win-win," and that he has heard no opposition to the move.

"It's a good fit for the neighborhood," said Dairl Helmer, a Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association board member. "So far, we haven't heard anyone objecting to it." Helmer said that he was looking forward to seeing what kind of culture the school would bring, and that he would like to attend school plays and concerts.

Repsher added that Councilman Rob Fong and Mayor Kevin Johnson approve of the move.

"Welcoming us is the biggest thing," Repsher said. "When I first looked at the facility, the first thing I did was check with the neighborhood leadership to see what they thought."

Country Day students aren't as uniformly supportive of the move.

"Some students are nostalgic about moving from the old campus," said sophomore Richard Whitney. "They've been there their whole lives."

However, Whitney and his friend Cabot Jackman, also a sophomore, support the move and are excited about the prospects of a larger school. Jackman said that once students visit the campus and get to know the neighborhood, they will lose their preconceptions and "forget about" the old school.

"It seems to be a great community," Jackman said. "At the old campus we are limited to what we can do in the community."

He pointed out that the Newton Booth area is closer to a larger concentration of businesses, museums and historic buildings.

Friday from noon to 1 p.m., students and Newton Booth community members will get their first taste of the Newton Booth campus. Middle and high school students will be transported to the site for a tour and they and members of the neighborhood will be served free hamburgers. Neighbors who wish to attend should e-mail office@saccds.org.