Renaissance Academy closes suddenly

Renaissance Academy, a private school for gifted children, closed today because declining enrollment and trouble refinancing a construction loan.

Parents were caught off guard by the closure, with several saying they had no indication the school was having problems. They received a letter at the end of the school day Monday informing them of the closure, and were told they could pick up students' belongings today.

According to the school's Web site, the Renaissance Academy was founded in 1993 to serve students from preschool to eighth grade. The school was holding classes at various locations throughout the area until it broke ground on its own, 19,000 square foot building at 2760 Fieldstone Rd. in the Mountain Shadows area. The construction was financed with a variable interest rate loan, according to school board member Tom Briggs. He said the interest rate had been "bouncing around," and the board tried, to no avail, to refinance.

Declining enrollment also made it difficult for the school to cover its expenses. The school needed 100 to 110 students this year to meet its obligations, but had only 70. Last year's student population was 95. He blamed the drop in enrollment to the economy because parents could no longer afford to send their kids there. Tuition ranged from about $2,950 for a two-day-a-week half-day program to about $9,700 for a full-day, five-day-a-week program.

Meanwhile, parents were scrambling to get their kids enrolled in other schools, but they worry that there are not a lot of local options for gifted children, who, like at-risk students, have special educational needs.

School officials plan to meet with parents to explain the situation in detail.