The Trillium Charter School has tremendously dedicated students,
teachers and parents who are now caught in a situation created by a
shortage of resources and an apparent lack of sufficient fiscal
controls. The board and new administration of Trillium were informed
very recently that our insurers were withdrawing our property and
liability and workers’ compensation coverage for the school, blaming a
history of missed and late payments.
As soon as the current Trillium leadership was made aware of this
situation, we set about making full payment. However, our property
and liability insurance agent was unable to convince that carrier to
continue coverage. Despite making full and immediate payment, the
company informed the agent last week that they decided to cancel our
coverage.
We have worked throughout the weekend doing everything we can to
rectify the situation as quickly as humanly possible.
We are writing you now — and will communicate with frequency and full
transparency — in an attempt to make you aware of the facts as we
obtain them. We have communicated with Portland Public Schools over
the course of the weekend and they plan meetings early tomorrow to
identify any ways that they might support through this situation.
Please rest assured that we intend to share freely and fully any and
all updates we can provide.
Looking forward, we want you to know that the Trillium school board is
in the process of a complete review of the financial records and
status of Trillium. We have now reorganized our accounting process
and accounting personnel at the school. We want to assure you that
Trillium is now current in our payments for liability and property
coverage, and believe our insurer acted harshly and in error. While
we strenuously dispute the insurers’ decisions and are continuing in
our efforts to work out the disagreement with the company, we are also
working around the clock to procure replacement coverage so we can
re-open the school as quickly as possible.
As Trillium parents and board members, we know how stressful this
uncertainty must be, and we want you to know that we are working as
hard and as smart as we know how to address the situation, get to the
bottom of any lingering fiscal issues, and to place Trillium back on
sound footing so we can preserve the mission and great works of the
school that has made such a difference in the lives of our kids and in
the quality of our community. We will be able — and required — to
make up missed days later in the school year, and once we know how
long it will take us to re-open the school, we will let you know the
make-up dates.
To our students, we want you to know that you are, by far, our top
priority. We are deeply sorry about the disruption to your studies,
and we intend to get you back into the Trillium learning community
quickly. Further, we are determined to take the steps that will
ensure that you receive the educational experience you deserve. You
should know that your teachers miss you, and are standing by, anxious
to return to classes with you.
We are currently looking for adequate public space to host a Trillium
meeting on Tuesday night – please stay tuned for details and save the
date. Until then, please continue to look for email updates, and
check our website at www.trilliumcharterschool.org. We intend to
update you on a daily basis with our best estimate for when the school
will re-open. Again, we will err on the side of over-communication,
if such a thing is possible, because candor and honesty is the only
viable path forward for our school.
We ask for your understanding and patience as we work to restore the
school’s fiscal standing. We have new leadership, new controls and
new oversight coming into place — and we ask you to stand with us as
we confront and address these fiscal challenges and put Trillium back
on track for its next decade of collaborative and community-inspired
learning.
Thanks,
The Trillium Board of Directors
Filed under: All School
