Records show JJ Legacy was in financial trouble leading up to its closure.

MINNEAPOLIS — The last day of school should be in June, not January.

“We lost a very special community,” Christel Porter, whose son attended JJ Legacy Montessori School, lamented to WCCO. “This was a family, a very unique family.

Students and teachers said goodbye to school on Friday. Must close due to mounting debtsthe administrator reports, the amount is approximately $710,000.

“I don’t have a lot of bitterness or anger,” Benny Roberts, another JJ Legacy parent, explained to WCCO. “We are so grateful for the instillation in our daughter during her formative years that she will carry with her into her future journey.”

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WCCO’s investigation uncovered new information regarding the sudden circumstances that led to the school closure, which was passed by the Board of Education on January 5th. Less than two weeks later, the school received a letter from the Minnesota Department of Education warning administrators about the J.J. legacy. The company was operating with legal debt.

The financial statements also show a significant decline in revenue from 2021 to 2022, likely due to the end of the coronavirus relief fund. However, administrators and state officials acknowledge that much of the debt is due to the discrepancy between this year’s enrollment projections and the number of students who actually attended JJ Legacy.

“If we had the borrowing power, we would have been able to survive at least until we could get the financing we needed,” explained school principal Tonisia Abdul-Salam. “If we can’t run our programs in a way that truly serves our kids and provides them with the support they need, we can’t fulfill our mission as a school.”

Abdul Salam, who founded the school with her husband Jamal, blamed the drop in enrollment on the school’s sudden move from its previous location to a new building over the summer. She herself also had to take her leave to care for her husband’s illness.

Abdul Salam stressed that the rising debt, which the balance sheet shows is not just due to enrollment numbers, reflects education’s financial challenges rather than fraud.

“It costs money to educate our children, and it costs money to replace all of these things that children experience in communities, including the area where we live.”

At least three other charter schools have offered to enroll JJ Legacy students.