Any experience of walking away from a school contract?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, the question here is if you can walk away if the school is able to fill the slot with a kid from the waiting list? Can anyone explain in plain English what are the economic damages of that situation?

Filling the slot with a full pay kid is not always an option for every school and even if it is, it’s not necessarily easy. And you are just looking at your own actions and coming to the conclusion there is no damage. But what if there’re like five recently accepted families that want to vacate their contracts, and the school has made obligations to teachers and other budgetary issues, and they just don’t have five full pay kids on the waiting list that they actually want, or that still want the school? so you can argue there’s no damage in therefore you should not have to pay any of the money, but you’re gonna have to use your lawyer to negotiate your way through that with their lawyers.

This. The school's follow the same contract dates. So the group they can draw from is limited -- kids ready to be full-pay but that were otherwise planning for public.

If they fill the spot with a student who was otherwise planning to attend private, that just creates another contract conflict.

AISGW made the problem more pointed this year by moving up the contract binding date to the same dsg that enrollment was due for selective DCPS high schools. So students got accepted off the waitlist just after the private school contracts became binding.

I agree that AIGSW made the problem worse this year by bringing forward the binding date by 1 month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, the question here is if you can walk away if the school is able to fill the slot with a kid from the waiting list? Can anyone explain in plain English what are the economic damages of that situation?

DP. If your contract says you cannot walk away then one can't -- and the courts consistently enforce breach of contract.

Are you familiar with the duty to mitigate damages?

You’re welcome to make all sorts of arguments that justify breaching the contract. But when judges and juries get involved, and hear all the counter arguments, you might lose. This is why cases often settle with compromise before going to trial.

[Anonymous]

I can tell that most posters have zero business experience. If you have some experience with construction there is all the time breaches of contract, and you renegotiate them because starting a lawsuit is more expensive than the loss of the breached contract. If the cost of breaching the contract is too high then you lawyer up. So yes, circumstances can change, one of the parties might be unhappy, but there is always scope for renegotiation. If one party doesn’t want to renegotiate, then you enforce the contract with a lawsuit. There is no mystery here and no “moral obligation”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, the question here is if you can walk away if the school is able to fill the slot with a kid from the waiting list? Can anyone explain in plain English what are the economic damages of that situation?

DP. If your contract says you cannot walk away then one can't -- and the courts consistently enforce breach of contract.

Really? Have you tried to cancel a hotel reservation without penalty. Well, it does happen, and frequently. By the way, it also happens at schools depending on the circumstances.

Yes, my son got sent home with hand foot and mouth the day before we were supposed to leave to go skiing in Utah. We called the hotel (owned by Marriott) and the airline (delta) and calmly explained the situation and asked for the best way to go about canceling or moving. Both let us cancel with no penalty to simplify and to ensure no one who may be carrying HFM came to their business.

Same is true with schools, if you have a real reason, you call and calmly explain, they are more likely to work with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we’re in the weeds here with semantics. I’m gonna sum this up and then we can lock this thread, right?
1)When we sign contracts, we should know what we’re signing and have the character to follow through with our obligations. Especially when it’s binding us to a $50,000 deal.
2) a school is still running a business and they have every right to hold you to the contract you signed and obligate you to those tuition dollars. They have their lawyers and they’re not afraid to use them.
3) depending on the school, and other circumstances such as how decently you ask and their confidence of filling your spot with the kid of a grateful family you might be able to get out of the contract 100%. Or 25%. Or 33%. Or 50%.

OK folks. There’s nothing else too say. No more posting on this topic! Do you understand me? Go enjoy your Mother’s Day. This is a waste of your time. And you’re welcome.

Except your post is irrelevant because it is based on your own self-righteous opinion rather than any actual experience.

Their post wasn't self-righteous and perfectly relevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, the question here is if you can walk away if the school is able to fill the slot with a kid from the waiting list? Can anyone explain in plain English what are the economic damages of that situation?

DP. If your contract says you cannot walk away then one can't -- and the courts consistently enforce breach of contract.

Really? Have you tried to cancel a hotel reservation without penalty. Well, it does happen, and frequently. By the way, it also happens at schools depending on the circumstances.

Yes, my son got sent home with hand foot and mouth the day before we were supposed to leave to go skiing in Utah. We called the hotel (owned by Marriott) and the airline (delta) and calmly explained the situation and asked for the best way to go about canceling or moving. Both let us cancel with no penalty to simplify and to ensure no one who may be carrying HFM came to their business.

Same is true with schools, if you have a real reason, you call and calmly explain, they are more likely to work with you.

Fully agree!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can tell that most posters have zero business experience. If you have some experience with construction there is all the time breaches of contract, and you renegotiate them because starting a lawsuit is more expensive than the loss of the breached contract. If the cost of breaching the contract is too high then you lawyer up. So yes, circumstances can change, one of the parties might be unhappy, but there is always scope for renegotiation. If one party doesn’t want to renegotiate, then you enforce the contract with a lawsuit. There is no mystery here and no “moral obligation”.

Have you done this? At a school? I have and I know others who have and this is not our experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, the question here is if you can walk away if the school is able to fill the slot with a kid from the waiting list? Can anyone explain in plain English what are the economic damages of that situation?

DP. If your contract says you cannot walk away then one can't -- and the courts consistently enforce breach of contract.

Really? Have you tried to cancel a hotel reservation without penalty. Well, it does happen, and frequently. By the way, it also happens at schools depending on the circumstances.

Yes, my son got sent home with hand foot and mouth the day before we were supposed to leave to go skiing in Utah. We called the hotel (owned by Marriott) and the airline (delta) and calmly explained the situation and asked for the best way to go about canceling or moving. Both let us cancel with no penalty to simplify and to ensure no one who may be carrying HFM came to their business.

Same is true with schools, if you have a real reason, you call and calmly explain, they are more likely to work with you.

We called Delta when my father in law died...they said Sorry! You can not change your reservation. Have a nice day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard of one getting their money back when the parent had a significant, legitimate issue with the school and the school required the parent to sign a non disclosure/non disparagement agreement in exchange.

In addition to this, if a school decides your kid isn't a good fit, they will happily let you out of the contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, the question here is if you can walk away if the school is able to fill the slot with a kid from the waiting list? Can anyone explain in plain English what are the economic damages of that situation?

DP. If your contract says you cannot walk away then one can't -- and the courts consistently enforce breach of contract.

Are you familiar with the duty to mitigate damages?

You’re welcome to make all sorts of arguments that justify breaching the contract. But when judges and juries get involved, and hear all the counter arguments, you might lose. This is why cases often settle with compromise before going to trial.

And the duty to mitigate is why a school with a long waiting list (like a Big 3) is unlikely to waste money trying to enforce a contract worth $60,000. Given the legal expenses, the claim likely has close to no value and even less of a value when considering the very real possibility of losing. Much cheaper to simply fill the seat with the long line of families waiting in the coffers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, the question here is if you can walk away if the school is able to fill the slot with a kid from the waiting list? Can anyone explain in plain English what are the economic damages of that situation?

DP. If your contract says you cannot walk away then one can't -- and the courts consistently enforce breach of contract.

Are you familiar with the duty to mitigate damages?

You’re welcome to make all sorts of arguments that justify breaching the contract. But when judges and juries get involved, and hear all the counter arguments, you might lose. This is why cases often settle with compromise before going to trial.

And the duty to mitigate is why a school with a long waiting list (like a Big 3) is unlikely to waste money trying to enforce a contract worth $60,000. Given the legal expenses, the claim likely has close to no value and even less of a value when considering the very real possibility of losing. Much cheaper to simply fill the seat with the long line of families waiting in the coffers.

+1. Totally!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We settled at 33%. No attorneys not too much drama. We explained our concerns and said we did not want to be a part of the community going forward.

I understand we signed a contract but we were blindsided by new information regarding class size and teacher assignments, lack of qualified long term substitute for known maternity leave. We were told they didn’t need a qualified substitute because the returning mother would catch up the students after maternity leave. I to this day wonder if 33% was too much money to pay them. They filled the spot with a late applicant.

They were wrong with not needing a qualified sub. You were right to leave. They should have only charged you for the amount between them filling the spot as they double dipped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We settled at 33%. No attorneys not too much drama. We explained our concerns and said we did not want to be a part of the community going forward.

I understand we signed a contract but we were blindsided by new information regarding class size and teacher assignments, lack of qualified long term substitute for known maternity leave. We were told they didn’t need a qualified substitute because the returning mother would catch up the students after maternity leave. I to this day wonder if 33% was too much money to pay them. They filled the spot with a late applicant.

They were wrong with not needing a qualified sub. You were right to leave. They should have only charged you for the amount between them filling the spot as they double dipped.

With such huge waiting lists, schools love to double dip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it even possible? Or will the school always claw back its money? I just wanted to learn from the experience of people who have actually done so. For other opinions, I prefer to chat with Gemini.

d

Don’t do it. Attend the school for a year if not good apply out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard of one getting their money back when the parent had a significant, legitimate issue with the school and the school required the parent to sign a non disclosure/non disparagement agreement in exchange.

In addition to this, if a school decides your kid isn't a good fit, they will happily let you out of the contract.

+1