A South Florida preschool operates in a local church during the day, but a lawsuit from the landlord and bizarre behavior caught on camera at night has them praying for a new home. 7’s Heather Walker Investigates. The hallways at this preschool are empty and quiet. Class was canceled a few week s ago, and some of the reasons why were caught on video. Daniel Grimm, owner, Avanda Academic Alliance: “Like, this whole situation is just insane.” Two years ago, Avanda Academic Alliance took over the lease from a school located inside Faith Presbyterian Church of Pembroke Pines. Daniel Grimm is the owner of Avanda. He says the relationship between the school and the church started off great … but things broke down when the plumbing backed up. Daniel Grimm: “It would back up in here, would back up over there.” Daniel claims the church never made any repairs, so the school stopped paying rent. Daniel Grimm: “‘Here’s your notice. If you don’t fix this problem, we will no longer be paying the rent, which is our right as tenants.'” The church started to evict the school in September, and last month, a judge ordered the school to pay up. Daniel Grimm: “Twelve or 15 days to come up with $30,000-plus. We don’t have that kind of money.” When Daniel couldn’t come up with the money, strange things started happening at the school. Daniel Grimm: “That night we saw that, we’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ We had no idea who it was.” Over several weeks’ time, the school’s surveillance cameras captured people roaming the halls at night. Daniel Grimm: “It’s beyond bizarre.” One video shows two people — one in a red coat and another person who has covered their head with a pink cloth. Another video shows a person on the floor. Daniel Grimm: “Dragging herself on the floor, hunched over, playing music, all throughout the school, everywhere — up and down every hallway for like four or five hours.” 7News visited Avanda on March 10. Daniel had just canceled classes for the day. Someone had installed a different set of security cameras and locked up every bathroom in the school. Daniel Grimm: “Every single bathroom, the doorknobs, locked them, put the caution tape up.” They left a portable toilet outside. Daniel Grimm: “What are we supposed to do with these children? We’re supposed to take little children out to use a port-a-potty?” A camera recorded a woman putting up caution tape in one of the bathrooms. The church’s attorney, Claudia Barona, met us in the parking lot after we left the school. When we asked her what was going on inside Avanda at night, she had a simple answer. Claudia Barona: “It’s our property.” The church’s lease with Avanda says the landlord has access to the facility at any time. However, no one with the school is allowed on the property after 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Barona told 7News that Avanda breached its lease a year ago because of multiple issues before the school stopped paying rent. She claimed the plumbing issues only started after the church filed for eviction in September. Claudia Barona: “The pipes were not an issue until we told them, ‘That’s it, no more.’ We just did a full research of our pipes, and guess what, they’re fine.” Faith Presbyterian Church of Pembroke Pines was cited last month by the Broward County Health Department. Records show there were several reports of sewage leaks at the property since December of last year. The department said the church has “…failed to maintain a septic system…” and it has caused a “…continuous repeated release of untreated sewage onto publicly accessible spaces.” A hearing to determine whether the church has made the repairs is set for early April. Daniel isn’t waiting for that hearing. He couldn’t afford to keep fighting the eviction case, so he packed everything up and moved out. But he’s not sure where to go. Daniel Grimm: “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We reached out to all of our parents and asked if they have any ideas, if they know of anywhere.” He hopes Avanda can reopen soon in a new home that’s free of nighttime visitors. Heather Walker, 7News. CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:305-627-CLUE954-921-CLUE7Investigates@wsvn.com ...read more read less