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CEDU schools seeking bankrupty protection Posted: Tuesday, Mar 29, 2005 - 08:38:35 am PST By LUCY DUKES Hagadone News Network
BONNERS FERRY -- A skeleton crew was closing down operations at CEDU schools Monday, hoping they'd get paid even though the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Delaware on Friday at 9 p.m. EST. Less than 24 hours after the bankruptcy filing, the 301 students were gone and by Monday morning, Bonners Ferry Idaho Commerce and Labor office staff saw more people in 90 minutes than they normally see in a day.As Commerce and Labor staff braced for a potential jump in unemployment -- up to 12.7 percent next month compared to February's 6.5 percent -- and tried to figure out how to cope with more people looking for work than available jobs, rumors circulated about a group of parents wanting to buy the schools. A meeting to discuss a possible purchase was scheduled Monday night, said Northwest Academy Director Peggy McCalmant, but the outcome was unknown at deadline.
McCown and Zawadsky did not immediately return phone calls to the Hagadone News Network. CEDU communications director Julia Andrick said she'd given their number to the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, among others, and office staff for the investment firm said the two had been in conference calls all day. CEDU's bankruptcy trustee, George Miller, could not be reached for comment Monday. He was scheduled to be in court all day, according to his voicemail, and his voicemail box was full. CEDU announced the closures on Friday, shocking 301 students, their parents, 250 employees and the community. CEDU had operated Ascent, Northwest Academy, Boulder Creek Academy and Milestones in Idaho. Milestones is in Coeur d'Alene, and the other schools are located in Boundary County. CEDU has a small office in Sandpoint and closed Rocky Mountain Academy in mid-February, saying it could no longer attract quality staff and therefore could not attract students. The employees were told on Thursday that CEDU could not meet payroll on Friday. They were not paid for three weeks of work already done, and the wages are included in the bankruptcy filing, said Dave Darrow, Bonners Ferry Idaho Commerce and Labor office manager. He heard about the closure at 5 p.m. on Friday -- just a few hours after the schools' employees heard the news. Federal law requires workers be given 60 days notice of layoffs under certain conditions. When Darrow informed CEDU officials, he was told that CEDU decision-makers already knew. His staff had seen 75 former CEDU employees by just after noon on Monday, while they ordinarily help 25-30 people in the course of an ordinarily busy day, Darrow said. Another 50 employees were seen at the Sandpoint office. "They were here as soon as we opened the doors," he said. Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry staff are forming a team to help with retraining, but now, they're trying to get people processed for unemployment About 130 of those employed at CEDU live in Boundary County, 103 live in Bonner County and the rest live in Kootenai County, Washington and Montana, said Darrow. Schools from out of the area called in with jobs for CEDU hopefuls, but none of the jobs are local, said Darrow. Many of those who lost their jobs are married to people who also work at CEDU, he said. "Not only are you seeing one income, impacted, but both incomes," he added. He doesn't have specifics on the education of staff, but the counselors and teachers were not necessarily certified and don't necessarily have degrees. Some of the positions were filled by people who had been promoted from within and don't have degrees. "That will be an obstacle in seeking other employment," said Darrow Meanwhile, experts tried to figure out what had happened. Enrollment was good, as was reputation, said Lon Woodbury, editor and publisher of Woodbury Reports, which publishes Struggling Teens, an online resource for parents of troubled youth. According to his Web site, Woodbury has worked for 17 years in the industry. He has heard that CEDU was unable to service its debt. Woodbury is also coordinating a massive outreach to parents and students of CEDU schools. More than 30 educational consultants, schools and organizations have responded, many offering pro bono services, reduced rates, waived enrollment or registration fees and priority placement. The closures are not an industry trend, said Jan Moss, director of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, a networking and professional association for the industry. About 130 schools and organizations are part of the association. The industry has actually grown, she said. At the schools themselves, halls were empty while a handful of staff organized student files and cleaned up while the bankruptcy trustee petitioned for the crew to be paid for two weeks. McCalmant didn't know if she'd get paid for her work. She stayed for an early graduation ceremony on Saturday for Northwest Academy students scheduled to graduate in May. McCalmant called the ceremony "beautiful." She was in her office on Monday, not sure of her status, overseeing the closure and watching a few guitars and duffle bags, and hoping for answers. "Most of the people here today hope they will get some compensation for this," she said. dan wrote on Dec 13, 2006 12:20 PM: " that place sucked anyway. they abused kids and it's for profit jail. " anonymous wrote on Sep 6, 2006 9:01 PM: " "He doesn't have specifics on the education of staff, but the counselors and teachers were not necessarily certified and don't necessarily have degrees. Some of the positions were filled by people who had been promoted from within and don't have degrees.
"That will be an obstacle in seeking other employment," said Darrow"
Alot of the teachers and staffs that weren't certified should not even be helping the students. I am not sure if the staffs are aware, but while living in the CEDU enviroment, students pick up a lot of things and ways staff use to treat the students. In the same way, students can modify these ways and use them against the staff. I personally encountered a staff who I know was not certified, but he/she is just another staff there to help the students when they go hiking or do other outdoor activity. Therefore, a lot of mistake he/she made let me easily take control of his/her emotion which cause him/her to make some serious mistakes. So, personally, if they lose their jobs and have problems getting the same jobs because they are not certified, don't blame the company for bankruptcy, but blame themselves for taking the shortcut. " POST YOUR OPINION
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Alexandra Gold wrote on Jan 29, 2008 12:21 AM: