{"id":18,"date":"2026-05-11T17:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/massachusettsmovingnews.com\/?p=18"},"modified":"2026-05-11T17:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:38:08","slug":"the-croft-school-announces-boston-locations-to-close-after-13m-debt-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/massachusettsmovingnews.com\/?p=18","title":{"rendered":"The Croft School announces Boston locations to close after $13M debt scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Despite recent efforts to avoid it, the Croft School announced plans to close following accusations that the institution\u2019s founder hid $13 million in unapproved debt for years and after failed attempts to sell its two Boston locations. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/massachusettsmovingnews.com\/?p=16\">Controversial 288-unit Worcester housing project in limbo after zoning request withdrawn<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>School administrators informed parents on Friday that efforts to sell the school fell through and that more than 60 families had unenrolled in recent days from its South End location. The private school also has locations in Jamaica Plain and Providence, Rhode Island, that are set to close. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The school is currently relying on donations from parents to complete the remainder of the academic year. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>A non-profit and registered charity called the South End Village Academy Incorporated (SEVA) was organized earlier this year to raise funds to cover the school\u2019s operating expenses in the South End following revelations of the debt scandal that came to light in March. It has raised more than $1.2 million. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Parents at the Croft School\u2019s Jamaica Plain campus have also been covering operating expenses and payroll for the rest of the school year. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Likewise, parents in Providence have raised money to keep the school afloat for the rest of the academic year, and it remained available for sale as of Friday, The Boston Globe reported. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Administrators have attempted to sell the two Boston locations, but citing ongoing challenges, the accusations of fraud, a constrained timeline, uncertain financials and mass unenrollment, the strategy has shifted towards liquidation of the school\u2019s assets to \u201cmaximize value for all creditors,\u201d the school said in an email to parents on Friday. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>There were two parties interested in purchasing the South End and Jamaica Plain schools, but the challenges proved too great. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe know how hard many of you worked to maintain The Croft School as you know it,\u201d the email stated. \u201cThese difficult circumstances, uncertain financials, and condensed timeframe made this a trying environment for purchasers to timely make a binding offer for the schools.\u201d <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2>Families respond to closing, demand admin honors sale option<\/h2>\n<p>Members of SEVA, the charity keeping the South End locations afloat until the end of the academic year, called on the Croft School Board of Directors to honor a contractual option to purchase the school\u2019s assets in the South End and obtain the school\u2019s South End locations. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/massachusettsmovingnews.com\/?p=14\">Popular all-day cafe based in NYC sets opening date for new Boston location<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe Croft School will close on June 12,\u201d the parental group wrote in a press release. \u201cThat painful reality is no longer in dispute. What is still within the Board\u2019s control is whether the South End community is allowed to preserve what we have built together \u2014 our families, our educators, our partners, and the home our children know.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The group said administrators should comply with its contractual obligations to allow families and children to \u201cpreserve some semblance of the school experience and community they once had.\u201d <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Of the $1.2 million in donations raised, SEVA has already loaned more than $500,000 to the Croft Schools, according to the group\u2019s statement. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2>What happened with the debt scandal?<\/h2>\n<p>The school \u2014 which serves preschool through middle school \u2014 revealed in March that its founder and executive director, Scott Given, had concealed $13 million in debt and it would need $5 million to stay open through the end of the current school year.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The board of directors wrote in a letter to families that after suspending Given on March 7, they took steps to secure the school\u2019s finances. After paying employees with what little cash was left in Croft\u2019s accounts and securing a $400,000 \u201ccapital contribution\u201d from an undisclosed source, the school was left with about $448,000, according to the letter.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The accusations against Given came to light after the school backed out of a plan to expand its South End campus into a new space at 1421 Washington St., the current home of Foodie\u2019s Market, a grocery store set to close in June. Given had provided the landlord of the building, 1421 Washington Associates LLC, a $500,000 letter of credit as a security deposit when the school signed a lease for the space.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>However, according to a lawsuit Washington Associates filed last week against Croft and Given, when a company manager attempted to cash the letter of credit after the school backed out, the bank said it was a forgery.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Croft\u2019s board wrote in its letter to families that Given had admitted to forging the letter of credit at the same time that he revealed the $13 million in debt.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/massachusettsmovingnews.com\/?p=12\">Former Celtics assistant signs contract extension after breakout season<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<section>\n<header>\n<h2>More about the Croft School<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<ul>\n<li>Potential buyer ID\u2019d for Boston school after leader hid millions in debt<\/li>\n<li>Croft School parents secure funding to keep Boston campus open after scandal<\/li>\n<li>Croft School parents rally to keep Boston school open after $13M debt scandal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite recent efforts to avoid it, the Croft School announced plans to close following accusations that the institution\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boston"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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