Thousands of dollars in fees hang in balance at Colmont School in Kilmore

Parents at a Kilmore school are demanding to know if thousands of dollars in fees will be refunded after its sudden closure, as calls grow for new administrators to be appointed.

Parents are demanding to know whether their tens of thousands of dollars in advanced school fees paid to the now broke Colmont School will be returned.

The school community is calling for the “inexperienced” administrators to be removed, with parents saying they are still in the dark about whether they will return their money.

They are also pushing for more transparency surrounding the Kilmore school’s tumultuous financial history.

Some parents have forked out up to $50,000 in tuition and boarding fees for the rest of the school year before the school’s sudden collapse, while a prepaid school skiing trip had also been planned for the coming weeks.

They were told the school would be placed into administration by Dandenong-based Vince and Associates on Thursday.

Interviews for new students were taking place as recently as Monday last week, with families charged a $500 application fee.

On Monday, students and parents took to the front gates of the school, formerly known as Kilmore International School, to protest its sudden closure, demanding it stay open at least until the end of the school year.

Some parents have forked out up to $50,000 in tuition and boarding fees to Colmont School for the rest of the school year.

The Herald Sun understands multiple investors have thrown their hat into the ring to save the school, which was a popular choice for families wanting to enrol students in the International Baccalaureate program.

But one father, Jas Singh, said he felt as though saving the school was not a priority for administrators.

His year 7 son Abhijot was at the school for just two weeks, but he stands to lose $8000 in tuition fees if the family is not reimbursed.

“We don’t have any hope of getting our money back. They (administrators) are here to close the school and not to save it. It doesn’t look very promising,” he said.

“We came here as immigrants and are trying our best to give our kids a good education. They are doing everything to close the doors even though there are offers on the plate.”

Mr Singh said Abhijot had not been accepted into any of the public or independent schools he has contacted about enrolment.

“All other schools are not accepting him as they don’t have spots,” he said.

He said the place at Hume Grammar offered to his son earlier in the year has been filled since opting for Colmont.

“My son is 12 years old and very traumatised as he might have to go back to a government school. I am not saying they are bad but we have not been given a choice.

“I am worried about his mental health.”

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Father Amit Verma, whose 12-year-old son, Rannajay, attended Colmont, said he was not optimistic about having his prepaid fees returned and called for new administrators to be appointed.

“Our aim is to replace the current administrators. They don’t have any experience in administration of an educational institution.

“We aren’t getting any answers about our money or exactly how this happened,” he said.

Mr Verma said he has contacted more than 15 independent schools in his search for a new school that also offers the IB program.

“A lot of people moved to Kilmore just because of the school,” he said.

“It is most difficult for this age group because none of them have any year seven places,” he said.

“The first question my son asked me when the school closed was ‘what’s going to happen? Where are you going to send me?’.”

Students protest outside Colmont School in a bid to keep the institution open. Picture: Jay Singh

Administrator Paul Langdon said he was yet to determine the payment of creditors such as parents, but noted that the budget was “very tight”.

“There is a substantial amount of goodwill in the school community for the school to continue however in the absence of any significant funding injection from the state or federal government, the administrators will continue to wind down the school’s operations,” he said.

He said unsecured creditors such as parents would come behind employee entitlements according to the law.

Mr Langdon said parents would be updated on Tuesday. He said a proposal for rent relief had been rejected by the landlord.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Natalie Hutchins has rejected claims students from the collapsed Kilmore school have been unable to find new schools with room to take on their children since its abrupt closure, despite desperate parents scrambling to resettle their children.

Ms Hutchins said there were sufficient spots at nearby government schools to take on all students from the rebranded Colmont School

She told parents on Monday it was “back on them” to make approaches to public schools amid reports some students were unable to find a new school by the end of the weekend.

“Certainly we do have capacity at schools in the region to pick up anyone that needs a class, for both primary and secondary schools,” Ms Hutchins said.

“I’m telling you there are spots available — whether their parents have made the approaches to particular schools is back on the parents but certainly there are enough spots at our neighbouring schools to be able to integrate these kids and keep them in the education system,” she said.

Staff unlikely to be paid entitlements

It comes as 70 staff are unlikely to be paid their entitlements, with $1.5m in leave payments expected to be written off as they scramble for emergency roles at other schools.

Colmont Schoolteacher Sandi McNamara, head of years 3 and 4, said there was “not one hint” the school was about to close.

“We are absolutely gobsmacked. How can they spend so much money? Where has the money gone?” Ms McNamara said.

The leading school to take students is Assumption College in Kilmore, but it does not offer the IB program.

Ms Hutchins said the state government had ruled out propping up the school until December to help year 11 and 12 students complete their studies.

Opposition education spokesman David Hodgett called on the government to fund the school through to the end of the year for senior students, citing the Victorian Liberal government’s funding of Mowbray College after the shock closure of the Melton school in June 2012.

Mowbray College had received a $1m loan from the government to allow VCE and IB students to finish the year, and teachers to finalise academic records.

“The government needs to show a bit of care and compassion here, and do a lot more for families and students,” Mr Hodgett said.

“I think as a bare minimum, I would be calling on the government to fund this school until the end of the academic year, at least for the year 11 and 12 students.

“You can’t just pick these students up and plonk them at schools hundreds of kilometres away.”

The company’s most recent financial report stated the school had $6.7m in the bank after receiving $10m in student fees and $5.7m from the state and federal governments.

The report, filed in July 2021 stated that the school was “well positioned to navigate the challenges of this ongoing pandemic through the support it received from the federal government, its robust balance sheet position, strong liquidity and recurrent government funding”.

But its corporate structure meant the school had to pay $900,000 a year to the site’s owners, believed to be owned by a group of companies based in the British Virgin Islands.

It also had to pay $520,000 a year for the school’s name and branding – an agreement in place since 1992 when the White St premises were sold.

Vince and Associates has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Thousands of dollars in fees hang in balance at Colmont School in Kilmore