The founder and executive director of The Croft School, Scott Given, has been sidelined by the school’s board, which says it uncovered “serious irregularities” in the school’s finances. Trustees voted on March 7 to suspend Given, launch an independent review and bring in lawyers and financial advisers, all while keeping classes and programs running as normal. Families and neighborhood leaders say the abrupt shakeup has left them scrambling for answers about donations, loans and other dollars that helped fuel the school’s rapid expansion.
Those moves were outlined in an email to families reviewed by The Boston Globe. The Globe reported that the board “intends to find out what happened” and will work “to restructure our accounts and secure the institution’s finances.” The paper also reported that Given floated the sale of so-called “Croft bonds” to families, loans in the $100,000 to $250,000 range that carried roughly 12.5 percent annual interest, and that it remains unclear how much, if any, money was ultimately raised through that plan.
The Croft School enrolled nearly 200 students last year, according to the Massachusetts K–12 education department. Federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that the Providence campus alone accounted for roughly 160 students.
Bank ties and the money trail
Leader Bank has publicly highlighted Croft as a commercial client, noting in its materials that the bank helped arrange Small Business Administration financing and additional term lending so leased spaces could be converted into schoolrooms. The documents point to roughly $2.2 million in SBA-backed financing, along with other term loans. That borrowing, paired with the proposed family bond program, has sharpened questions about financial oversight at a fast-growing private school that operates across multiple leased locations.
Tuition, fundraising and parental stakes
According to admissions information from The Croft School, new-student tuition at the Jamaica Plain campus is roughly $35,490. Admissions materials from The Croft School put Providence tuition at about $31,690. Those price tags help explain why families and donors might be approached to help bankroll capital projects. Parents have told the board they want a clear, detailed accounting of any loans, bond sales or promises of interest payments, and answers about what protections, if any, exist for families who put their own money into the school…