Anonymous wrote:At this point there’s every expectation this isn’t over, though, right? WSS lives on a bit longer? I for one would keep an eye on mid-year Maret transfers.

I’m fairly curious how a failed school matriculated students to Georgetown and other good schools?

Why would anyone leave Maret for Whittle?

Chris Whittle..... RESIGN IN DISCGRACE! It is only honorable way out.

Why does anyone support this man or the school? Hanging on to what? Children’s education at stake and supporters still hang on. Why? Without their support Whittle would be washed up. The failure of the school is on the parents.

WSS seems to be heavily renting its space out this summer

Ditto for insert a name of the board member, HOS, management, investor parent…

Comment on WaPo (another references dcum)

Chris Whittle gets too much room to narrate the story of the school's downfall in this story. Why was no former staff interviewed? Is it really true that the finances went bad as a result of Covid? From my observation as an outsider, the finances seemed extremely shaky even before the pandemic (unpaid bills etc.) and Whittle was everything but transparent about this fact. Now he's posing as an underdog, who is bent on saving a visionary concept. From my observation, the school was more like the Fyre Festival - and it deserves the same critical treatment in the press.

WBJ:
“Chris Whittle said his own pay took a cut through the pandemic. He didn’t disclose specific figures but said his employment contract with the Whittle School & Studios’ global corporation — originally called G30 Management in court records and early campus plans to indicate its planned 30 locations — stipulates base pay and a potential bonus he said he hasn’t received, but no incentives for opening new campuses. He said he didn’t collect pay in the first three years starting in 2015, nor since fall 2021. “I’ve always believed that organizational leaders must ‘lead by example’ in such matters, including but not limited to ‘putting your money where your mouth is,’” he said. “Upon the Covid crisis, when I requested that certain [members] of our leadership — not faculty — reduce their pay to help us weather the storm, I took the largest reduction in pay on both a percentage and absolute basis."

So…can you kindly clarify:
Did you receive any other funds associated with the school: loans, promissory notes, signing bonus, payment of expenses on your behalf or on behalf of anyone associated with you?

Who signed your employment contract and is your employment contract the only legal agreement you have with any associated entities or individual patrons or investors--If not can you please create a list of all agreements between any entity or individual associated with you, and any person or entity associated with the Whittle enterprise?

Is there a finance committee of the Board? Who chairs that committee? Have there been resignations from the Board? Can you please provide those as well?

There is over $60 million in mortgage loans provided to you and various educational entities you control, from foreign entities----- detailed in NY Court. Were these funds for you personally or for the school, or to pay back prior debts?

You say you took a mortgage out to pay for school expenses. Was your payment to the school structured as a loan, additional equity, an informal wire to a particular entity? How did the money get from mortgage to the school? Was it paid in a lump sum or an as-needed basis from a personal account ? Which entity was it deposited into?

How much money does the school owe you, or you owe the school or it’s investors/patrons? Is there someone on your Board who has been tracking this figure?

Assuming WSS doesn't declare bankruptcy, what number most closely represents the Whittle SS entities' total liabilities at this time? Anyone thinking of enrolling needs to know how deep this hole is--not how rich the new possible deal might be.

Anonymous wrote:

It’s really not clear where the money went. It sounds like the top tier got paid. Even Whittle was getting paid through Nov 21. I still maintain this is a book or a Vanity Fair type expose on the rich and not so famous getting ahead and the small guy, incl parents, getting shortchanged.

And (aside from salary) I can't imagine that he wasn't pocketing some of the investment funds slated for the school, or taking out loans against them. It's exactly what he did at Avenues.

Anonymous wrote:At this point there’s every expectation this isn’t over, though, right? WSS lives on a bit longer? I for one would keep an eye on mid-year Maret transfers.

I’m fairly curious how a failed school matriculated students to Georgetown and other good schools?

What’s the Fall enrollment?

“Staff would find out that they hadn’t paid the cleaning people for months because they just stopped showing up one day. They had members of the leadership team emptying trash cans to keep that up,” said a former D.C. campus employee who left within the last year. “The big question that was always asked at every meeting was: Where is the money going?”

It’s really not clear where the money went. It sounds like the top tier got paid. Even Whittle was getting paid through Nov 21. I still maintain this is a book or a Vanity Fair type expose on the rich and not so famous getting ahead and the small guy, incl parents, getting shortchanged.

I’d love to read every detail, about the kids who lived in the Convention Center, who each of the parents on the investment committee was, origin of their wealth, etc. For example, one of them rents out apartments where there’s no $ to stop the rodents or change carpets according to the reviews and BBB reports. I mean this book will write itself

Probably just another tale of of greed, delusion with a whiff of secondary education Varsity Blues. But a heady mix as we all know some of these people and DC is oh so small

You think that "Whittle is a mid-year hook to get your kid into Maret" would enough to get enrollment numbers up?

Me too.

At this point there’s every expectation this isn’t over, though, right? WSS lives on a bit longer? I for one would keep an eye on mid-year Maret transfers.

I’m fairly curious how a failed school matriculated students to Georgetown and other good schools?

Per WSS own documents advisory board (incl HOS wife) we’re entitled to a stipend.

I think the questions related to were some parents taken on a ride so the others’ can graduate are valid?

I do think it’s going to be a very interesting read once it’s all out, but I’m sorry for the parents and kids who genuinely had no idea what’s in store.

Anonymous wrote:

Thanks so much, Mrs Bisgaard, for this explanation.

Tell me, what do you think a discussion among parents in this context should look like, if not what was posted above? It was mostly putting a sunny face on everything and being hopeful, even when the news was always one bad thing after another, and I'm not saying that was a good thing. There were a few complaints, but they were mostly drowned out by the "thank you for all of your wonderful work" crowd. The complaints did get a bunch of thumbs up though.

Anonymous wrote:To elaborate on the signal messages, they were things like:

* We had a meeting with Chris today, who says he had a good meeting with the investors.

* We were able to meet with one of the investors, who says they are committed to the deal. We haven't been able to meet with the third investor.

* We understand from [Chris or someone else] that the investor's board is meeting this week. Fingers crossed!

* Do we need to send our kids with lunches this week?

* Here is the update we promised: The investment will not close Monday as we had hoped, but we are hopeful that [blah blah blah]

* I'm sure you saw the email from the school, which is a disappointment. We are meeting today to brainstorm more options.


* Thank you so much for doing all this hard work for the parents! This is such a wonderful community and we will get through this! [This, in variants, was an extremely common message]

Thanks so much, Mrs Bisgaard, for this explanation.