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SSFS Closing
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Anonymous
| Parent of two SSFS students here. Hopefully, we will learn more about where the financial errors were made - because they were clearly long in the making and not just since Covid. I certainly do not bear any ill to the teachers and staff and to the administrators who inherited this problem. We are devastated. |
Anonymous
I think that is too simple of an explanation. How does a school go from building a new high school to bankruptcy in 4 years? Why was the school mortgaging their 140 acre property to cover costs? Why did the HoS quit (or more than likely fired) at the end of last year school year? Why was the long term CFO suddenly let go? The Maryland Real Property database shows that SSFS is evaluated at $59,307,800. That is a lot of money. There is nothing left in the property that could be leverage for a loan? There are so many questions as to what happened. The board is really vague to what caused this in their email. |
Anonymous
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From the BOT’s 2024 message on finances:
Financial Health of the School: Every year, our board must bless an operating budget that delivers an exceptional education to your children via the tuition revenue that you share with SSFS. The school’s operating budget also receives funds from annual donations (charitable giving from families, alumni, and friends of the school) and from other campus programs such as summer camp. Beyond the operating budget, our board is also responsible for building the school’s endowment. Given the school’s dependency on Tuition Revenue for its operations, this year’s higher-than-expected levels of student attrition contributed to difficulty this spring in building a balanced budget for FY25 operations. This challenge was further compounded by unexpected additional student attrition in May 2024. When we asked exiting families to share their reasons for leaving SSFS, they identified: costs of tuition, student culture, and a misalignment between the school’s culture and their family values as their key reasons for departure. The loss of returning students created immediate and difficult choices for school leadership in June 2024 when it came to staffing the school. The senior administration sought to ensure the school’s operating budget was in line with an updated enrollment of 620 students. This year’s operating budget ensures proper support for SSFS’s learning program in service to the 620 students now enrolled for the new academic year. Christine Lewis, as our interim head of school, will ensure that the fundamentals of our program and school philosophy are supported properly. The board has asked Christine to manage the appropriate balance of financial controls with a student-centered approach in the coming year. We are pleased with the continued strength of SSFS’s brand in the wider marketplace and are excited to welcome 120 new students this year. We believe the continued interest in SSFS from new students and their families reflects the school’s strengths in mission, community, and campus-based teaching and learning. It is important to share with you that SSFS is facing some financial challenges, and the board is working on several strategic questions related to: the declining boarding program; unfulfilled pledges to our last Capital Campaign (Light the Way, meant to support the Upper School Building); and, significant repair and maintenance needed in our Performing Arts and Athletic Centers. Please know that our board is committed to a long-term strategy of financial health for SSFS. To that end, we are working to assess key financial indicators for SSFS including our relative position in the market, key mission and program differentiators, enrollment trends/long term school size, campus/facility needs and program planning. This work will inform measures to support faculty and staff engagement and will help trustees to assess opportunities for increased philanthropic work. We know that several areas must be addressed to ensure improved financial strength for SSFS in the long-term and you can expect to hear from us, as we make decisions to that end. |
Anonymous
Did they take PPP loans? If not, they should have. |
Anonymous
Yes. From an email from Board, dated May 6, 2020. -------------------------------------------- To Our Sandy Spring Friends School Community, We hope this message finds you and your families safe and well. The Covid-19 pandemic has created exceptional uncertainties for us all, not least the economic uncertainty that impacts members of our community and Sandy Spring Friends School itself. As part of our financial stewardship and fiduciary responsibility to the School, the SSFS Board of Trustees is working closely with the administration to safeguard the School's financial stability to the best of our abilities, given the unusual challenges we must now face together. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are writing with some very reassuring news in that context. Sandy Spring Friends School will receive support pursuant to the Federal CARES Act. SSFS qualified for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, administered by Atlantic Union Bank. We appreciate the support of the Bank and the fine, timely work of CFO Carylton Ganong, the Business Office team, and Head of School Tom Gibian in securing approval for a $2.6 million loan that will be applied to payroll, health insurance, benefits, and other eligible expenses incurred during the current fiscal year. In light of actual and anticipated financial shortfalls as a result of the mounting economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the Board determined that accepting the loan would allow us to continue to provide the strongest possible program to our students, secure in the knowledge that we will avoid layoffs and furloughs for our dedicated faculty and staff. Protecting the safety and economic security of our employees during this public health and humanitarian crisis is of the utmost importance. Without the PPP loan, SSFS would be in a position of having to draw down a significant amount of its board reserves, which ultimately limits the School's fiscal options. Moreover, the opportunity was determined fully consistent with the Board's fiduciary responsibilities, as well as Sandy Spring Friends School's beloved Quaker tenets at the heart of our mission. We recognize that we are indeed among the fortunate to receive public support—and that this good fortune obligates us to pay it forward, if not pay it back. Now more than ever, Let Your Lives Speak has particular resonance. SSFS entered into the PPP loan agreement following extensive discussion by the Board and in consultation with many experts, including legal counsel, the Friends Council on Education, the National Association of Independent Schools, and our accrediting agency, the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools. The Board concluded that the program was intended to, and will, constitute an important component of financial recovery from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. We are deeply grateful for the availability of the PPP loan to soften the blow from the pandemic. We know, however, that our work is far from done and that, in the weeks and months to come, we will all need to pull together. In that spirit, we respectfully request that you consider supporting financial aid with a gift to the Annual Fund in May, if you are in a position to do so. Your generosity is more important than ever as we respond to an urgent need for increased support for financial aid. You can make an immediate difference for our students and their families with an Annual Fund gift. We are honored to be working with the faculty, staff, and administration to steward the School during this remarkable time. And we are grateful for your trust, continued support, and understanding. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| The 2025 college admissions outcomes aren't even that great for SSFS. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Hope the families land somewhere soon and that everyone finds jobs. |
Anonymous
Please. It's too early to even know what they are yet. |
Anonymous
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https://s3.amazonaws.com/rg175-public/current_searches/1727217347229913747.pdf
I find it curious that the executive search company RG175 posted the job in July 2025 noting an endowment and annual fund and zero debt referred to. Either the firm intentionally misrepresented the school's financial status to grab their fee, is too dumb to ask or dig deeper, doesn't know how to read publicly available financial statements, was lied to by the Board, or doesn't ask for financials not publicly available because its better to get the job done and get paid than to "know"... |
Anonymous
| This is some trifling BS. Not only do we have to find new schools, we have to find new camp this summer. And the email from the camp today shows how uncoordinated and unprofessional this communication strategy has been. |
Anonymous
Total speculation here - no evidence- just thinking through scenarios that could describe their odd timing on this decision…... Maybe they ‘thought’ the just needed to hit aggressive new student recruitment targets - but after admissions they discovered more current students announced they were leaving than they expected and then also didn’t hit the new enrollees target either. |
Anonymous
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Hello S@SS Families,
We hope you're enjoying a well-deserved spring break. It is with a heavy heart that I share some difficult news: SSFS will be closing its doors at the end of this school year. This announcement comes as a shock, and we understand it raises many questions for all of us. My team and I are just as surprised as you, learning of this decision only an hour before the official email was sent. We were also taken aback to hear that there are currently no plans for a summer camp. Please know my team and I have been working to come up with solutions ever since we were informed of this news. We are fully committed to exploring all possibilities in the coming days to ensure we can create one final, unforgettable summer for everyone involved. We will send another update by Friday or Tuesday of next week with a final decision regarding camp. If the decision to forgo camp becomes final, we will issue full refunds to all families. The S@SS staff are just as heartbroken as you, but we are determined to navigate these uncertain times and work towards a solution for the 2025 summer season. Sincerely, Alex Helberg Camp Director Summer at Sandy Spring |
Anonymous
There was outreach to try to raise money. It didn't get results needed. |
Anonymous
| There was NOT an outreach that even implied that shuttering the school abruptly was on the horizon. |
Anonymous
Our experience at FCS has been absolutely extraordinary. We were at another well-respected school in the area but my child was being overlooked. We went to FCS and my child THRIVED. The school really walks the walk. I would advise anybody looking for a Quaker progressive education to take a look and draw their own conclusions. The school has a new head of school coming in who was the previous head of middle school at Sidwell Friends. The Middle School head is outstanding. Lower School head is outstanding. It's a small program and that means there is an extreme amount of customization. Each child is truly known, respected, and allowed to be their best selves. The level of independence and coaching from supportive teachers in middle school is impressive. The children have leadership opportunities from kindergarten on up and they really seem to leave the school prepared for their lives ahead - high school and beyond. The community is extremely diverse and proud of it. It's been a magical place for us. Exactly what I envisioned school for my child would be. I understand the other people have different experiences. Check it out! |