Private school in Newark shutters doors for good
NEWARK, Calif. (KRON) — A private school in Newark not only ended its academic schoolyear but closed its doors for good.
Back in December, Marshall and Company Property Management filed a property commercial eviction lawsuit against New Horizons School in Newark, which is still pending in Alameda County Superior Court — a sign the private elementary and middle school that opened in 1988 was on the brink of collapse.
Though many parents and staff members were unaware of how dire the situation was, principal and owner Victor Dawson said he could not even afford to pay utilities, leading to his swift decision to notify the community last week that all operations and instruction would permanently shut down in days.
“We had to stop the faucet from dripping, because you know, we were again, in pretty bad situation,” Dawson said.
Over the past few months, several teachers left when Dawson notified them that they would not immediately get paid. And, through the school’s final day last Friday, Dawson confirmed many of the remaining 16 or 17 staff members were still unpaid.
A complaint has been filed against the school with the state labor regulators, which Dawson acknowledged over the phone Monday with KRON 4, adding that he hopes to pay those owed money.
“Working with the labor department on that and so, yeah, we’re in the process,” Dawson said.
Dawson said persistently low enrollment, limited staff and financial instability starting with the economic downturn back in 2020 have regrettably led him and his school to file for chapter seven bankruptcy and close up for good.
“On a normal year, we had about 150 to 180 students per year, and over the last couple of years, we dropped to about 100 students,” Dawson said. “And, so that was just a big chunk of families that we were to get back.”
Making matters worse, at least eight families who were unaware of the imminent closure and paid next year’s $14-thousand tuition early have to wait at least 90-days from making a request for reimbursement to get their money back.
“End of the day, the staff that remained to work, you know, as far as they could, you know, they were the heroes,” Dawson said. “They did their job. They really worked for their students. You know, we could have closed earlier. But, you know, those staff members helped us to stay open a little longer.”
To ensure a smooth transition for students, Dawson said school records will be forwarded to schools who request files through new horizon’s website.
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