NYC Private School Depends on Parent Donations to Avoid Closing

Parents supporting a financially distressed private school in Manhattan’s Upper West Side are being forced to make emergency donations to cover payroll and avoid an immediate shutdown after a Canadian businessman who was recently installed as board chairman declined to advance funds through his foundation.

Manhattan Country School, which filed bankruptcy May 16, sought to draw $1 million from a 12% interest loan advanced by Casa Laxmi, a foundation led by the school’s newly-installed board chair Kiran Kulkarni. The emergency funds were needed to cover payroll and other costs to keep the school open ahead of its June 12 ...