No Refund for St. Alban’s Families
Parents who paid between $7,000 & $12,000 for their children to attend St. Alban’s Episcopal School this fall won’t be offered a refund, even though classes for the upcoming year were canceled this week.
The school, which opened in 1958, is expected to file for bankruptcy soon, said school board member and parent, Bill Johnston.
Parents are finding out about the closing from news reports and word of mouth. Many are angry at the school for taking their tuition money when the school clearly knew they were in trouble. Some paid tuition only 3 weeks ago.
In 2005, the school moved to 5200 S. Bowen Road. Apparently the school still owes $3 million to $4 million on that property. They were also faced with some flooding earlier this year that caused over $60,000 worth of damage to the school. They blame the damage for a drastic drop in enrollment. Over the last few years, the school had about 250 students, but had dropped to only 137 for the 2007-2008 school year.
Some area private schools are offering to help St. Alban’s students by waiving registration fees, offering financial assistance or giving tuition breaks. TCC Credit Union in Dallas, which has offered installment loans to St. Alban’s families, said the money granted for loans for the upcoming school year has already been paid to the school and the loans must still be repaid. Ron Powers, TCC Credit Union president, said the credit union will assist parents by exploring lower interest rates or longer repayment terms.
Brackett & Ellis in Fort Worth is the law firm representing the school. If parents have questions, they can call St. Alban’s at 817-460-6071. The school will be open on Monday for parents to pick up records. Records will be stored at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church after the school office closes. Families may contact the Texas Attorney General’s office at l 800-252-8011 if they feel they’ve been wronged. The Attorney General will review the case to see if St. Alban’s has broken any laws.
Source: Star-Telegram
Arlington, Arlington TX, St. Alban’s Episcopal School, school closing, closing
My StumbleUpon Page
August 5th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Wow that sounds really stressful, especially for the kids. Starting school is a crazy time anyway, but not knowing what is going on or where you will be attending this close to the first day? Yikes!
August 9th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Interesting behavior for a supposed christian organization. See Matthew 7:21-23.
August 9th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
I feel bad for the students.
August 13th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
I lost $9,816 at that school. Multiply that by 137 kids that pre-paid for this upcoming years tuition. Hows that for a faith based school. My son’s is heartbroken and I am without a school or money. Thanks St. Albans!!! I am sure you are very proud of your actions
October 11th, 2007 at 6:31 am
[...] school closed with no warning in early August leaving parents scrambling to find a new school for their students. Many of those [...]