No Refunds: Trustee Says School is Not Offering to Return Tuition for Fall Term

By Traci Shurley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Aug. 4–Parents who paid thousands of dollars for their children to attend St. Alban’s Episcopal School in Arlington aren’t being offered refunds, even though classes for the upcoming year were canceled this week, one trustee said Friday.

The school is expected to file for bankruptcy soon, said Bill Johnston, a parent who has been a member of the school’s board since October.

“Nobody’s been deceptive or tried to turn the story. It’s a small school that depends on tuition from year to year,” Johnston said. “There’s no backup plan and hasn’t been a backup plan. If you don’t get enrollment, you don’t get enrollment.”

Parents, who pay between $7,000 to $12,000 a year per child, were scrambling to find other places to enroll their children this week. Some expressed anger at the school’s timing and handling of the situation.

James Roof, whose two sons were enrolled for fall, said he didn’t know anything about the closing until he read a Star-Telegram article about it Thursday. He’s borrowed almost $17,000 to cover tuition for his 3-year-old and 5-year-old and is considering legal action to recover the money.

“St. Alban’s took our money three weeks ago, and you can’t tell me they didn’t already know they were going to do this,” Roof said. “You don’t make a decision like this overnight.”

Until Thursday, Dora Tovar had been badgering her son to finish his summer reading list before he was set to start eighth grade at St. Alban’s on Aug. 21. Like Roof, she found out from the newspaper article that her family would have to find another school.

“I read it and almost passed out,” Tovar said. “I know a lot of his classmates have been at St. Alban’s since elementary school. I just can’t imagine.”

Flood of troubles

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Arlington opened the school in 1958 as a kindergarten. Grades were added through the years; attendance at one time reached 350, Johnston said. The school and the church have been separate financially for about seven years, operating as two 501(c)3 nonprofits, according to the school’s Web site.

In 2005, the school moved to 7 acres at 5200 S. Bowen Road that features an unusual building that looks like a castle. Johnston said the school still owes $3 million to $4 million on that property. He referred questions about how much St. Alban’s has in the bank to the school’s law firm, Brackett & Ellis in Fort Worth. James Whitton, an attorney to whom the firm directed calls about St. Alban’s, did not return calls late Friday afternoon.

Johnston said enrollment at the school had been about 250 for the past few years. Faced with stagnant numbers, officials reworked the budget last year to make sure the school could survive if it dropped to as low as 200. Based on information from school administrators, board members were confident until last week that the school could reach that number, Johnston said. Historically, last-minute registrations met enrollment expectations, trustees said.

On July 27, administrators told them that enrollment had only reached 137.

After that, the decision to close was made.

On Wednesday, St. Alban’s officials met with the school’s 35 faculty and staff members to tell them their contracts would not be renewed for the coming year. Officials are waiting for approval from their attorney before a letter about the closing is sent to parents.

School Headmaster Kathy Bonds did not return messages left for her Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. She was not at the school when the Star-Telegram visited with Johnston on Friday.

Though trustees are not certain why attendance dipped so dramatically, they do have some theories. Rumors of the school’s precarious financial situation have been circulating, and flooding in May also caused problems, said Tobi Jackson, another trustee and parent.

Water at St. Alban’s was shut off because of an irrigation leak, and after service was later restored, officials didn’t realize a faucet had accidentally been left on. The resulting flooding damaged six classrooms and hallways and destroyed the $60,000 gym floor.

Insurance was going to pay for repairs, but staff members were left with a damaged building to show potential students and their parents, Jackson said.

“It looked like a ghost town, so people got freaked out,” she said.

Financial help

Some private schools have offered to help St. Alban’s students. High Point Preparatory Academy in Arlington will waive a $350 registration fee, officials there said. Johnston said that Christway Academy in Duncanville is offering financial assistance and that parents told him St. Vincent’s Episcopal School in Bedford is offering tuition breaks.

St. Alban’s parents who needed an installment plan to pay part or all of the yearly tuition have traditionally been referred to TCC Credit Union. The Dallas credit union, which is not associated with Tarrant County College District, specializes in tuition loans for students attending Christian schools.

Ron Powers, TCC Credit Union president, said Friday that 38 St. Alban’s families have taken out loans for the coming year. That money has already gone to the school, and parents must pay back the loans. But, he said, the credit union is trying to help by exploring ways to lower interest rates or extending the loan periods to make the payments lower.

“We are looking for ways to make it as easy as possible for the parents who are our members because they’re our focus,” Powers said.

As he walked through the school Friday, Johnston said he realizes that many parents are angry, but he points out that he too paid about $12,000 in tuition and fees June 1. Johnston, some other trustees and a few staff members have been at the school for the past three days trying to answer parents’ questions, he said. About 50 parents have stopped by.

“I think you can ask anyone how much heart and soul I’ve put into this school,” Johnston said. “I love this school.”

Roof said he still believes that parents deserved better from administrators and the board. If they knew there was a chance they wouldn’t reach the 200 mark, why not save the tuition so it could be refunded?

“That should have been the backup plan and that’s where I think they were negligent,” he said.

Staff writers Eva-Marie Ayala and I’sha Gaines contributed to this report.

What to do

Call the school: Parents with questions for St. Alban’s officials can call the school at 817-460-6071. The school will be open Monday for parents who want to pick up school records. Officials at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Arlington have agreed to store school records after the office closes.

Call the Texas attorney general’s office: Families adversely affected by the school’s closing may call 800-252-8011. Officials can review the situation to determine whether St. Alban’s broke any laws.

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tshurley@star-telegram.com Traci Shurley, 817-548-5494

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