Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Provo’s Treeside Charter School, a K-6 school based on the Waldorf education model, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the school announced Wednesday.
The school, which opened in 2017, said that it does not intend to close and hopes the filing will help it resolve issues with creditors and with its landlord. Treeside director Dr. Benjamin Johnson told the Utah State Charter School Board on Thursday that the filing is “an effort to stem and stop the shenanigans going on with our landlord.”
“So we are actually very excited about it,” Johnson said.
He characterized the move as a “reorganization” and said the process has moved quickly. In a letter to the Treeside community posted on social media, the Treeside board said the school “and what it stands for will be here for a long time.”
“Please know that everything at the school will operate as it does right now throughout this process,” the letter says. “The school remains committed to our students, teachers, and staff.”
The Treeside website says the school is “influenced by aspects” of Waldorf education “in alignment with our community’s needs.” Treeside students practice yoga and integrate music, nature and the arts into the curriculum, according to the site.
The Utah State Charter School Board also discussed Ogden’s Capstone Classical Academy during the Thursday meeting, saying the board has delayed the school’s hearing on possible closure until Dec. 9. The decision from that hearing will be discussed during the Charter School Board’s Dec. 12 meeting.
Charter School Board chair Kristin Elinkowski said the delay will give Capstone Classical Academy more time to address “enrollment and financial viability issues.”
