Feynman School Closing

[Anonymous]

Looks like bankruptcy has been filed.

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/56216308/Feynman_School,_Inc

https://www.inforuptcy.com/browse-filings/maryland-bankruptcy-court/0:24-bk-20635/bankruptcy-case-feynman-school-inc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like bankruptcy has been filed.

https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/56216308/Feynman_School,_Inc

https://www.inforuptcy.com/browse-filings/maryland-bankruptcy-court/0:24-bk-20635/bankruptcy-case-feynman-school-inc

Thanks for sharing. FWIW, Cheryl Rose is a well-regarded bankruptcy trustee (she’s the one assigned to this guess).

[Anonymous]

What about Oneness in Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Oneness in Bethesda?

If families from Feynman are scrambling, this school is warm, inclusive, and great for intelligent little minds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You need a base number of students to run the school. The number of gifted kids with parents who want them in that environment and can afford it was never going to be enough to make ends meet

Honestly, the number of really "gifted kids" is really small. Sorry, all you doting parents. That doesn't mean your DSs/DDs aren't smart for their age. But "gifted"? Unlikely.

Whatever. There is a clear definition. Mine had obviously met it by age 2. It comes with massive downsides, which is why Feynman was so important. Picture a 5 year old describing Planck length to their Kindergarten class. It does not go well. At Feynman, no one would blink an eye (at least 5-10 years ago). That’s why we overlooked all of the red flags. Snarkiness is not helpful or welcome here.

[Anonymous]

I am not a lawyer, nor do I know much about the law, but if I were a parent who had lost my tuition dollars and a school placement midyear, I would think very hard about suing the owner. She lives in a big fancy house, drives an expensive car, sends her own kids to a fancy private school and a big bucks college, travels all over the world… just sayin’. She is enjoying her scam of a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a lawyer, nor do I know much about the law, but if I were a parent who had lost my tuition dollars and a school placement midyear, I would think very hard about suing the owner. She lives in a big fancy house, drives an expensive car, sends her own kids to a fancy private school and a big bucks college, travels all over the world… just sayin’. She is enjoying her scam of a school.

According to the Form 990, she gets about 90k from the school to run it. The math is not mathing on that lifestyle. Must have made out well in the divorce or.......maybe we have the mystery solved on how they suddenly went bankrupt.

[Anonymous]

People are mean. She lives in a townhouse. Car is not fancy. Girls could be on scholarships, you don’t know that they are full pay. Lay off. She had a dream that was not well managed and to close like this is awful, but she was not scamming.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a Feynman parent, but our 3 kids have attended a variety of private schools over the past 15 years.

We always paid for tuition insurance. I was told by top admin at one of the very well-established schools in the DC area that parents should always buy tuition insurance. We buy it even now for our kids in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a lawyer, nor do I know much about the law, but if I were a parent who had lost my tuition dollars and a school placement midyear, I would think very hard about suing the owner. She lives in a big fancy house, drives an expensive car, sends her own kids to a fancy private school and a big bucks college, travels all over the world… just sayin’. She is enjoying her scam of a school.

Agreed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are mean. She lives in a townhouse. Car is not fancy. Girls could be on scholarships, you don’t know that they are full pay. Lay off. She had a dream that was not well managed and to close like this is awful, but she was not scamming.

It's entirely appropriate to ask hard uncomfortable questions when dozens of kids who aren't well suited for public schools are left scrambling for schools mid year and their families are out 20k plus in tuition they aren't getting back. I get dreams dying, but she made contractual promises she couldn't keep and your sympathy is directed in the wrong place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm not a Feynman parent, but our 3 kids have attended a variety of private schools over the past 15 years.

We always paid for tuition insurance. I was told by top admin at one of the very well-established schools in the DC area that parents should always buy tuition insurance. We buy it even now for our kids in college.

Tuition insurance was not an option for Feynman families

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a lawyer, nor do I know much about the law, but if I were a parent who had lost my tuition dollars and a school placement midyear, I would think very hard about suing the owner. She lives in a big fancy house, drives an expensive car, sends her own kids to a fancy private school and a big bucks college, travels all over the world… just sayin’. She is enjoying her scam of a school.

These suggested lawsuits aren’t going anywhere given the school’s pending bankruptcy proceeding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You need a base number of students to run the school. The number of gifted kids with parents who want them in that environment and can afford it was never going to be enough to make ends meet

Honestly, the number of really "gifted kids" is really small. Sorry, all you doting parents. That doesn't mean your DSs/DDs aren't smart for their age.

But "gifted"? Unlikely.

Whatever. There is a clear definition. Mine had obviously met it by age 2. It comes with massive downsides, which is why Feynman was so important. Picture a 5 year old describing Planck length to their Kindergarten class. It does not go well. At Feynman, no one would blink an eye (at least 5-10 years ago). That’s why we overlooked all of the red flags. Snarkiness is not helpful or welcome here.

Sure thing honey. Nothing says “ secure parenting “ like complaining your 5 yr old now has to explain quantum physics to kids still learning colors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Any Feynman parents adept at analyzing tax returns?
The Form 990 for fiscal year ending in 6/22 notes the number of financial aid grant given (53) for a total of $473,160 (p. 30) and also identifies a (relatively small) loan to the founders on p. 31. Query whether anyone can figure out enough of the financial situation so parents can decide what steps to take next.

Not a Feynman parent, but a nonprofit consultant who has spent many years working with independent schools. The loan is weird, IMO. Very weird. I've never seen something like that. And looking back at older 990s, it just gets weirder. Possibly multiple $24,500 loans, but it's hard to say for sure. Definitely a super weird one in FY15, where the Golds made a loan to the school but then the school loaned them money.

Nothing about the financial aid amount strikes me as unusual. The average amount of aid actually decreased a but from FY22 to FY23. There was a significant decrease in the amount of aid awarded from FY21 to FY22.

They raised very little money. FY22 and FY23 saw significant government grants ($400k+), but otherwise, fundraising was nearly nonexistent. I don't know any independent school that can survive without halfway decent fundraising. Though the lack of fundraising doesn't surprise me given that they spent virtually nothing on it. The biggest fundraising expense each year is occupancy, and frankly I'm rolling my eyes at that. You shouldn't be able to charge 5% of your occupancy costs to something you otherwise only allocated $360 out of $2.2 million in expenses. I wonder what all that government money is. Maybe private school vouchers paid directly to the school? (I'll admit, I'm not super familiar with Maryland's program, since I work primarily with schools and nonprofits in the Carolinas)

To me, the biggest red flag is the fact that 2 of the 5 Board members are not only employed by the school. but are married to each other. The second biggest is there's nearly zero turnover of Board members. That's a recipe for not exercising effective oversight--and given the sudden closing of the school and apparent financial mismanagement, that's exactly what happened here. I don't see the names of Board members posted anywhere on the website, nor do I see Robert Gold's name anywhere, despite being the Executive Director and pulling in a substantial salary. It appears the books were never audited by an outside accountant. That's terrifying to me. There's a serious lack of basic transparency.

If Feynman School came to me as a prospective client, I would run the other direction. The 990s are waving more red flags than a Chinese embassy.

As to what steps parents should take next, I can't say. I'm not a lawyer or a tax expert. I would be demanding answers, though. Demand the articles of incorporation--they should spell out what is supposed to happen when a nonprofit ceases operations, including what to do with assets. Demand Board meeting minutes--although typically organizations can keep these private, given the significant amount of government grants that last two years they may have to make these available, check Maryland law. Demand answers about those loans, ask why the 990s are so inconsistent (ex: 2021 990 Part VII Compensation of Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, Highest Compensated Employees, and Independent Contractors shows $195,913, yet Part IX Functional Expenses lists Compensation of current officers, directors, trustees, and key employees as $176,984. Those should match!)

You aren't kidding about the fishy tax returns. All kinds of weird stuff going on. Anyone notice the first class/charter travel and travel for companions listed in schedule J? and for multiple years?! What kind of organization with obvious financial issues pays for first class travel?! I guess one that liked to take vacations at the parents' expense.

I feel really badly for all of you that have been impacted by these fraudsters. I hope the students find a good school that can meet their needs and teachers find other work soon.