DaVinci Charter School in financial trouble
Teachers and parents face uncertain future
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A local charter school may have to close its doors. Last night - Davinci Charter Schools gave parents the bad news. For now the school is not closing, but it may just have a month left. And the only thing that will save it is money. Video by IdahoOnYourSide.com
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A local charter school may have to close its doors. Last night DaVinci Charter Schools gave parents the bad news. For now the school is not closing, but it may just have a month left. And the only thing that will save it is money.
DaVinci Charter School has a different style of teaching for its kindergarten through 8th grade students. A unique kind of curriculum that focuses on hands on learning and use of the arts.
“We're small, we love our children, we have a very unique education here, we are called the wiggly schools,” said Cindy Hoovel, Director of DaVinci Charter School.
They are the students that just didn't learn in a traditional environment.
“This is a place where the kids come and have a feeling of self identity; they feel accepted,” said Patrick Griffin, a 5th & 6th grade teacher.
Wednesday night the staff announced the school only has enough money to stay open until the end of February. Because they're grants ran out and the state drastically cut funding.
“To finish the year we need a donation of 150 thousand dollars. We are not saying we're closing, but we are getting down to a deadline,” said Hoovel.
Teachers don’t even know if they'll have jobs in four weeks. The uncertainty is unnerving and emotional.
Never the less they're not thinking about themselves.
“I feel strongly that my primary concern is for my students, those who have shown they have a difficult time at public schools, with meeting expectations, they come to a school like this, and they thrive and flourish,” said Griffin.
To even use the word closing is hard for the staff.
“To see a school such as this potentially close down, is something that this school might close down, is a hard thing, a hard reality to face,” said Griffin.
The charter school doesn’t get any help from Garden City, even though it's the city's only school. And it doesn't get any tax money for their buildings.
However, they do get a huge helping hand from Dave Evans Construction. Dave Evans construction leases the land to them for only one dollar a year.
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