The Board of Directors has reluctantly concluded that as of the 27^th of December, Vessey must close. School will not resume on January 3^rd as previously planned. 

 

At the beginning of this school year, the Board worked with the Executive Director to establish a budget for the year. This budget was based on the best forecasts we could make regarding student enrollment. Unfortunately the actual number of students never reached the levels of those forecasts. As the year unfolded, we adjusted the budget and therefore the amount of revenue Vessey received from the MN Department of Education (MDE).

 

The lease payments are a major expense for a charter school. Our landlord graciously agreed to major concessions with regard to our lease payments. Beyond reducing expenses, charter schools have limited options with regard to getting financing. We cannot go to a bank for a loan since we have nothing to offer as collateral. Our only choice has been to work with someone who wants to buy the right to receive money that we expect to receive in the future from MDE – that is, to buy the ‘holdback’ money. We have tried to use the lease concessions as leverage to gain financial support from Charter School Capital. While that looked quite promising at first, they finally said no. When that failed we approached the Minnesota Nonprofit Assistance Fund. They also could not find their way to make available the funds needed to keep Vessey in operation. 

 

Their final decision came just last Friday morning, the 23^rd of December. The nature of the circumstances – trying every possible approach to secure funding for continuing operations – results in our giving short notice. The Board recognizes the short notice and apologizes.

 

The process of closing down the school is governed by several Minnesota laws. Briefly, the Board must determine what it has for current assets (cash on hand or receivable from MDE) and set that aside to cover the costs of dissolving the school. Then it must attempt to pay off its creditors – people or organizations to whom it owes money.

 

Of course, the students pay the highest penalty in all this. Their school-year is disrupted and they need to work with their families to find others schools to finish out the year. By law, Vessey will transfer all students’ educational records to the students’ school district of residence. 

 

Students and families need to visit the school to retrieve personal belongings and return school property.  Students must return all Class B uniforms (shirts, pants, and jackets), t-shirts, and hoodies, as well as books belonging to the school. Staff will be at the school

·         from 4pm to 6pm on Wednesday, the 28^th of December

·         from 9am to 12pm on Thursday, the 29^th of December and

·         from 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 6pm on Tuesday, the 3^rd of January.

 

The Board wants to express its deep appreciation for the efforts of many people who tried to keep Vessey open. The Board deeply regrets having to come to this decision.

 

-General John Vessey Jr. Leadership Academy School Board