A well-regarded private institution with branches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island may soon face closure after its founder allegedly concealed $13 million in debt for several years.
Scott Given, aged 45, established the Croft School in Providence in 2017, charging $35,490 annually, and later expanded to Boston in 2020.
Residing in a $2.7 million home in the upscale Wellesley Hills area of Boston, Given disclosed earlier this month that he had been hiding substantial debt, as outlined in a letter addressed to the school community on March 15.
The letter claimed that on March 6, Given contacted a board member to confess that he had been misrepresenting financial details by maintaining two sets of books to disguise the debt.
Following the call, the board gained access to comprehensive financial records for the first time, revealing a total debt of $13 million.
The board stated they were unaware of any falsified financial documents and announced in the letter to the school community that Given had been suspended without pay.
A spokesperson for the school told CBS News that classes will continue to operate as normal until the coming Friday, March 27, but that its doors could close after that.
Parents shared their concern and outrage with the outlet, wondering what they are going to do and where their children are going to finish the remaining two months of the school year.
Scott Given, 45, founder of the Croft School, revealed that he was hiding $13million of debt and was suspended without pay, according to the school’s board
Given lives in this $2.7million home in the highly affluent Wellesley Hills suburb of Boston
Croft School parent Nicky Bandera asked: ‘Where are these kids gonna go?’
Despite already paying north of $30,000 annually for their children’s education, parents have been asked to fundraise for the school to keep it open until the end of the year.
The board estimated that it would cost $5million to keep everyone at the school on payroll until then.
Some parents, determined to keep their children in a stable learning environment, are supportive of the initiative.
But if the fundraising effort fails and the for-profit private school is forced to shut down, Boston Public Schools has said it is prepared to absorb the student body.
The school system released a public statement that said: ‘Boston Public Schools (BPS) has a legal and moral obligation to provide children living in the City of Boston with a high-quality, free, and public education.’
The revelation of the Croft School’s enormous debt came just one month after it announced that it had scrapped plans to expand its footprint in Boston’s South End neighborhood.
The private school had said it was going to move into a building currently occupied by an independent grocery store called Foodie’s Market, which is slated to close in June.
The Croft School was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2017 before expanding into Boston in 2020, but it may now be forced to close due to the alleged revealed debt. One of the school’s locations in Boston is pictured
The school backed out of the expansion in early February, citing backlash from the local community over the disappearance and lack of replacement of an affordable and walkable grocery store.
At the time, the school released a statement that said: ‘While we were excited about this opportunity, we believe it is more important to respond with care to what we have heard and to avoid further contributing to division at a time of real loss for the neighborhood.’
Now, with the revelation of the debt, the owners of the building currently being leased by Foodie’s Market are suing Given and the Croft School.
The owners have accused the private school’s founder of forging a $500,000 letter of credit from Leader Bank which bounced when they tried to transfer funds.
The attempted transfer led Leader Bank to spot the document as fraudulent and call the police, according to the civil complaint.
According to the letter sent to the school community, Given admitted to board members that he had forged the letter of credit.
The lawsuit is asking for $10million in damages for a breach of the Foodie’s Market location lease agreement and an additional $4.3million in damages for the community backlash around the grocery store’s closure, which they say devalued the property.
Given’s lawyers told Axios that their client has ‘never used any school funds for his own personal benefit.’
Given and the Croft School are being sued for millions of dollars by the owners of this building, who accuse them of breaching a lease for the space currently occupied by Foodie’s Market
‘Scott Given founded The Croft Schools with a vision to provide outstanding educational opportunities to the children of hundreds of city-based families,’ the statement continued.
‘At all times, he has used school funds solely for appropriate school-related purposes. The well-being of The Croft School community has been and will remain one of Scott’s top priorities in life.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Croft School and Given for additional comment.
