Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Byrnes Schools Closing

Well, it happened.

We wrote extensively here about the mismanagement and financial problems at the Byrnes Schools.  We chronicled their bankruptcy case and used the opportunity to peer into their records and see just how poorly managed it had been.  Despite the deal worked out with First Citizens, nothing was done to change the underlying issues.

Like many others, we were not suprised to read the story of Byrnes closing and working out an arrangement with Trinity to take its upper school students, a few faculty, and a few board members.  The article in the local paper was kind in its wording, but Trinty's headmaster made it clear in his statement that this is no merger. 

We continued to follow Byrnes' financial records until they were no longer required to file them with the court.  It was unclear how they were going to remain solvent in the spring.  They would certainly get an influx of capital from families that prepay, but it would not be enough to pay expenses through the summer and into the fall.  There were probably attempts to find a bank willing to loan them the payoff value on their note with FC, but apparently none were willing.

So what now?  Byrnes faculty and staff are SOL save for the well-connected few.  Coincidence that the new Trinity-Byrnes school will be adding only 6th grade, the grade taught by the wife of a board member who will undoubtedly get a position at T-B?  The athletic director will have a position too, though maybe not at the outsized salary he commanded at Byrnes.  The paper reported that some board members from Byrnes would join the new school -- our guess is that it will be the same people who wrote those $100,000 checks to prop of Byrnes right before the bankruptcy.  Look for Isgett, Goodman, Clanton, and maybe one more to be a part of T-B.  The Byrnes headmaster will probably find some sort of position, although Trinity has no need of more administrative staff. She is well connected, however, and a kind a charming person; she will certainly land well.  The other faculty who jumped ship last year must be thankful to have found jobs before all this happend. 

And what of the families who prepaid for the next year?  Especially the lower school families?  This is hard to say.  The prepaid amount is usually pretty substantial and will not be easy to simply pay back.  Remember, they've spent it all already so they can't just cut everyone a check.  They may have worked out an agreement with Trinity to finance a repayment, but Trinity had the clear upper hand in any negotiation and probably didn't agree to this unless it won them something else.  Odds are good that they will simply not pay at all and those families will be left to eat the cost.  They would possibly have a case of negligence against the board if they took the money while knowing they were insolvent and would be shutting down over the summer. 

Sadly, they're probably just going to lose their money. 

Of course, if they had read this blog they would have known better...

8 comments:

  1. Good! I wasn't at all surprised. Byrnes needed to be shut down. I really do not feel sorry for the parents who continued to send their children to this school and lost their money. It was well known that some teachers at Byrnes mistreated certain students and parents but they chose to continue to send their kids to this school anyway. The school's financial problems were well publicized. So I say good! My son was hurt physically and emotionally at this school. Now it is shut down. Now is my time to laugh. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

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    1. Sharon, I truly feel sorry for you! You obviously are a bitter and ignorant person! I graduated from Byrnes many years ago and treasure the quality of education I received and the lifelong wonderful memories of my experience there! I find the closing to be a sad chapter and I'm confident that I do not stand alone in my feelings!

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    2. No, Honey Bunches of Oates, I am very blessed and content. It just feels really great to see people finally get what they deserve. I'm actually not bitter or ignorant for that matter. You see, bitterness destroys a person, and I would never let that destroy me because I have a wonderful life and wonderful family and so much to be thankful for. Don't think you know me just me reading a few lines, and my advice to you is, do not judge others. Just because we see the situation differently doesnt mean I am ignorant or bitter. Everybody doesn't drink the Byrnes kook aid. That doesn't make them a monster. You need to travel and live a little. There is life beyond your circle.

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    3. Remember that there are children involved in this. Kids who just lost their school and all they have known. Also remember that a lot of people have just lost their jobs. It is not a joking matter.

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    4. I also hope you know that these kids, most of whom have spent their entire life at Byrnes and who had a strong family there, have internet. They are curious, and will most likely stumble upon this. No where is perfect. No school is perfect. But Byrnes was a family and those board members put their heart into that school and tried their hardest to keep it open. If you are questioning the type of education children revived there, follow up on some of the alumni at Furman, William and Mary, Texas A and M, and many other places. Also Byrnes was one of the few places that offered K-12th so families could always be together. The money problems go way back. Way back to when one man misused funds thirty or so years ago. Way to when new unnecessary private schools opened. I would also like to add Trinity was better off than Byrnes, but not by much. In a few years they most likely would have been in the same bankrupted place. Every member of the board was a moral person. No one will ever know how much they put into that school. Their children will never know, and certainly no one outside of the school could understand. Think of the seniors and juniors. Think of the sports teams that are now being pushed together. Try and see it from a child's veiw. It is a sad thing. It is very unlikely the bank will gain any thing from this. They took away a child's school and I'll even go so far as to call it a home. It is a tragedy. But God has a plan and that is where I will end it.

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  2. WOW...What a self centered, selfish, and immature thing to post! You are laughing because 100 lower school children are displaced, because people have lost their jobs, and because the town of Quinby will now probably crumble around what was once their only reason for being a town. You should have plenty of humor ahead of you every time you drive by that building which will no doubt be covered in tall uncut grass, and will likely become infested with rodents and vermin. (Because we all know how well First Citizens cares about the properties that they put out of business - ask around, people who live near many of these properties will tell you their horror stories - I guess that is kind of funny too though huh) But apparently it will still be beautiful in your neighborhood!

    You should bust a gut when you realize that the IGA is going to suffer terribly because they won't have 150 families a day passing by their doors to pick up a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread. Let's not forget the post office, the Hardware Store & Party store won't have much of a reason to stay. AND, with all of that crumbling around them, I can't imagine that the Carolina Bank will be able to generate enough revenue with what will be left in that Quinby economy. Wow that is all so funny. But again your son WAS hurt (maybe all this laughter will provide the best medicine)

    Sharon, (and I think that we all know who you are) your post is an embarrassment, as are you.

    I say good luck to the Byrnes lower school students and parents as they find a new school home, and can only hope that it is as caring and loving an environment as TBS was for them. Just as importantly, I say congratulations to the Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School for finally doing what should have been done years ago! The Pee Dee area can now boast and cheer about OUR premier academic institution! Hooray!

    Lastly to JB PHD, you need to report the right things...you are incorrect on so many levels....but one in particular...Every lower school parent was provided a refund check for their pre-paid tuition..Without those public records though, I guess you will just make it all up. (Sorry Sharon, if the parents being paid back dampens some of that humor - but don't worry, it's hurricane season, so maybe some other town will be wiped out and be devastated..Who can't find humor in that?)

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    1. I am glad you are embarrassed by my post. That was the point. I can tell you that in no way have I EVER gave a darn about what you people or anyone else think of me. If you think you know who I am, so what. The more people think they know about me, the more laughs I get. So I have no reason to be embarrassed for my words or actions. In spite of it all, I'm still standing, which is more than I can say for this so-called school. No I do not think that all of the things that you listed above are funny, just the fact this this joke of a school has been closed. People were not treated right, and too many arrogant people needed to be exposed and humbled, and they were. And if you would like to talk about being mature, the people on the board should have been mature enough to be honest with its faculty, students, and parents about what is really going on. It will always be a beautiful day in whatever neighborhood I am in. My advice to you is to stop being so proud and judgmental.

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  3. There's clearly a lot of emotions here as this all happened so recently. If the parents have indeed been paid back, the post will be updated as soon as we receive confirmation. Considering that Byrnes would have certainly spent all of the prepaid money to make payroll, the money for the paybacks must have come from board members or from Trinity. We'll be sure to cover this when we get the information. I think that recent events have demonstrated the quality of journalism we've done here. There were many posts about Byrnes financial health and warnings for the future that many people commented on and said we were wrong and misleading. Even Byrnes' current headmaster posted claiming that enrollment was actually up and things were better than ever! History has now shown who was publishing the correct information.

    While I understand the reasons for spinning this as a merger/integration, there really isn't going to be much left of Byrnes save for the name and a couple teachers and board members. Trinity's faculty will all keep their jobs and most of Byrnes middle and upper school as well as all the lower school and staff will be out of work.

    While others might, I certainly do not find humor in this happening and my heart goes out to those affected. At the same time, I think posts like the one above and others on previous posts show the darker side of Byrnes and may speak to some of the more subjective reasons for the school's failure. If this is so, then perhaps there isn't humor to be found, but rather justice.

    It's hard to believe the lies all started with the Bankruptcy when we saw board presidents on TV saying the school was fiscally sound and all was well. We could see all the bad decisions on public display during the case, but how many came before that took place in back rooms and shadows? How many bad decisions? How much nepotism and croneyism? How many good families were alienated to satiate the desires of a connected few? How many personel were hired for who they knew rather than what they knew?

    When a business fails, these are the sort of things that caused it. Sure, we can all blaim things on the economy, but remember that all the other large private schools are doing just fine and even thriving. Many have maxed out enrollment and solid financials. No, there are other reasons for Byrnes' failure, and I would venture a guess that many stem from the sort of people who post the kind of vitriol that has been posted in comments on this blog.

    So what will I think when I drive by Byrnes and see the tall grass taking over? I'll see a white-flight school founded in response to integration whose time had finally come. I'll smile because deep down, this is a sign of progress, a sign of evolution toward something better. I'll that the croneyism that bore it was the same croneyism that killed it, and take comfort and satisfaction in knowing that justice prevailed as it always does. I'll think of those hurt by this and be saddened, but then I will realize that those children and families will no longer have to spend time around people like those who post such cruel things here. Maybe the Trinity family will be good for the children and families of Byrnes, bettering them and carrying them into the 21st century.

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