Right now, parents of children at Taylor International Academy in Southfield are in a jam. Their children’s school year was supposed to end June 20, however last night they got a call saying the school is out of money and closed indefinitely.
- Southfield charter school suddenly closes, pre-K locked out of graduation
- Taylor International Academy on track to run out of cash before end of school year
A man who said he was contracted by Central Michigan University arrived at this school first thing this morning and put up signs saying the school is closed for now. No students are allowed in for class.
"I can't learn new things, I can't learn anything because they shut down the school," Arthur Gee, a fifth grader at the school.
His mom said she has reached out to other schools and found many don't have openings for next fall.
Who is responsible? Board members resigned and tell 7 Action news because they are no longer on the board, they have no comment.
The school’s management company, Renaissance School Services in New Jersey, said it inherited hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and has been working for free since November.
It blames the school’s authorizer, Central Michigan University, for turning down a plan to merge with another school. Central Michigan University said the plan was not viable.
It is working to figure out if the school will be able to open for any of the remaining days in the school year and how to get students their transcripts.
CMU says it is possible something could be worked out and school could reopen for a few days. Parents and teachers are trying to do what they can for the children.
One parent has set up aGoFundMe to try to throw a picnic so children can at least say goodbye to their classmates as their school closes.
As for if teachers will be getting paid, right now, CMU doesn't know where money could come from to pay the teachers who deferred wages over the summer. A spokesperson said figuring that out is a priority.
