compares to what’s next. Financial crunch forces closure of Brandon Hall School

By Bob Pepalis

A Sandy Springs private school has notified parents it lacks the finances to operate during the 2023-24 term.

Brandon Hall School notified parents via email on May 22 that it would not hold classes this fall.

“Although the Board has been persistently engaged in the search for a financial partner, it is necessary to report that a viable partner has not been identified to date. Without this financial support, the school does not currently have adequate resources needed to sustain our school’s operations. Thus, with great sadness, we are informing you that Brandon Hall is not equipped to educate your child for the 2023-24 school year,” the school’s Board of Trustees wrote in the email.

Parents who had already paid a deposit for the next school year were warned about the financial situation in an email on May 1.

Board Chair Karen White wrote in the May 1 email that the extended impact of COVID-19 on enrollment had the school operating with reduced financial resources. That led the board to engage with the Halladay Education Group to seek a strategic partner.

Head of School Zoë L. Hauser, who was hired in an interim position before the 2022-23 academic year, has not responded to phone and email requests for comment.

In its letter, the Board of Trustees said the deposits paid by parents for enrollment in the next school year will be returned “as expeditiously as possible.”

In the last IRS Form 990 on file, the school had liabilities of approximately $7 million in 2018 and assets of $3.8 million. That put its fund balance in the red by $3.2 million. The negative fund balance was $1.1 million higher than the previous year.

Brandon Hall School listed 38 faculty and staff members on its website, including administrators, teachers, and dorm staff, as of May 23. The dining staff was employed by Flik Independent School Dining.

The school listed its student population at 84 students, with 48 percent boarding and 52 percent attending as day school students in grades 6-12. Students who attended came from 15 countries and 11 states, with 19 percent international and 81 percent domestic students.

Tuition for the 2023-24 school year had been listed on its website as $30,250 for day school students, boarding tuition at $59,150, and international students would have paid $62,150.

The school was founded in 1959 by Theodore and Shirley Hecht, according to its website. Located on a 24-acre campus on the Chattahoochee River, the campus is the former summer estate of Atlantan Morris Brandon and his wife, Harriet Inman, and includes the original 1920s residence.