Thanks in part to a post on Change.org that drew 1,658 signatures and raised more than $15 million, the Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) Board of Trustees stated, “We are hopeful that a path can be found.”
Earlier this month, Board members announced the school would close at the end of this school year.
“The Board of Trustees of Sandy Spring Friends School is grateful for the outpouring of love and commitment to SSFS and welcomes the offers of financial support and leadership. The Board and the Friends of SSFS are collaborating closely with the shared purpose of enabling the school to continue operations,” board members stated on the school’s website.
Board members said they are working on the matter “and hope to have concrete details very soon.”
Over the next three years, between $14 million and $16 million is needed to keep the school open, members of the board noted. That money covers operating losses, debt service, repayment of a loan maturing in the near future and major maintenance projects.
According to the letter, the decision to close came “after a thoughtful and extensive assessment of the school’s untenable financial position, as well as thorough analysis of our enrollment and fundraising picture. Regrettably, despite an immense effort to shore up the school’s financial foundation, we simply do not have the financial wherewithal to meet our obligations next year.”
Alumni and other supporters created a Change.org petition entitled, “Reconsider the Closure of Sandy Spring Friends School – Let Our Lives Speak!”
The petition called for the school to remain open for another year and asked for supporters to join a special group aimed at focusing efforts on preserving the school on Norbeck Road. That group is holding a virtual parent question and answer session Thursday at 8 p.m.
The initiators of the Change.org petition said they were not trying to raise money, just support.
“This WAS NOT an intention for this campaign, as we are not soliciting money for SSFS. Furthermore, we have learned that change.org uses donated money “to support the Change.org platform and its mission of empowering citizen-led campaigning. This includes technology costs, operations, and expert campaign support, as well as promoting petitions. Donations do not directly benefit the petition organizer or the cause,” the organizers stated on the site.
The petition comes from “parents, students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends,” who said they were in “deep shock, sorrow, and frustration over the decision to close SSFS.”
They criticized school officials for making the decision “without transparent communication regarding the severity of the situation. The abrupt announcement has left the community reeling, and many of us feel blindsided. There has been no reasonable explanation for the lack of engagement with the very people who have supported and loved this school for decades.”
They expressed concern for current juniors and staff, in particular.
The petition ends, “Please do not shut the doors on us without giving us the opportunity to try to save our school.”
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Sandy Spring Friends Faces ‘Untenable Financial Position’; Closing in June
