Two months after shutting down its high school, an embattled Philadelphia charter school plans on shutting down its middle school.
Officials at the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partner Charter School announced they would permanently close their middle school, which serves 5th through 8th grade, on Dec. 31, citing financial difficulties. Parents told NBC10 they received the letter from the charter’s founder, Dr. Walter Palmer, Friday and Saturday, only a few days before the scheduled closure.
“This man Mr. Palmer is a piece of work,” said Rashida Jabbar, whose grandson attended the middle school. “He waited until school was on break to let us know that school was closed. It’s so sad. I cried for my grandson and other children, because here we go again.”
Jabbar’s other grandson, who is in the 9th grade, attended Walter Palmer’s High School, which suddenly closed in October.
“First my 9th grade grandson, now my 8th grade grandson,” Jabbar said.
A notice announcing the closure was also placed on the doors of the school headquarters.
“The Board of Trustees spent countless hours trying to review options,” the letter states. “However, in the best interest of the students and families that we serve, and the dedicated staff, the only option available is to close our school.”
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
The notice also claims the charter school sent another letter to Philadelphia School District Superintendent William Hite in early November, inviting him to meet with the school’s administrative team, staff, parents, community and vendors.
“This letter was sent with the specific purpose of communicating to everyone that it was the SRC and Dr. Hite’s intentions to continue to deduct our school’s funding each month until they forced the school with only the option to close,” Dr. Palmer said. “We asked for this meeting in hopes that we could have met before the Thanksgiving and winter holidays to address the School District of Philadelphia’s intentions. However, Dr. Hite, to date, has not responded to my written request to meet with the Leadership family and community.”
Philadelphia school district spokesman Fernando Gallard told NBC10 the district responded to the charter school several times however and that the deduction of the school’s funding was part of a court order.
Gallard also told NBC10 he had seen the letter announcing the closure of the middle school but the charter school officials never notified the school district about the sudden closure. Gallard also said the district is currently reaching out to Palmer to figure out how they can help.
The charter school officials advised parents to enroll their children in a neighborhood, public, charter, cyber or private school. They also said student records would be available starting Jan. 7 and provided the pickup times and contact information.
The charter school also abruptly canceled its high school in October, forcing 280 students to enroll in other institutions. At that time, Palmer stated that the high school was out of money. The closing came as the School District of Philadelphia fought to revoke its charter amid concerns about academic performance and financial stability.
Gallard told NBC10 last October the charter school’s financial problems escalated because the school overspent and over enrolled.
"The school is not advancing the students, in regards to their education and they're in an extreme financial situation," Gallard said on Oct. 16, when Palmer held a lottery to decide which students would be allowed to stay at the school.
A court had ordered the school to return $1.5 million to the district after discovering it enrolled twice the number of students allowed.
During a hearing in November, officials with the charter school refused to answer questions on topics ranging from qualifications to the accuracy of invoices, invoking the Fifth Amendment 77 times.
It's unknown at this time whether the charter's K through 4th grade school will also close as well. NBC10 reached out to Dr. Palmer for comment. We have not yet heard back from him.
