DRAWING TO A CLOSE
Teachers and students pack supplies as school declares bankruptcy
The Toronto School of Art shuts down after declaring bankruptcy,
The Toronto School of Art — advertised as one of the city’s bestkept secrets — declared itself bankrupt on Friday, ending a more than 40-year run. The problem might have stemmed from its “hidden gem” status — declining enrolment was one of the major reasons for insolvency.
Faculty and students were notified Thursday night and Friday morning to pick up their art supplies from the third floor of the Adelaide St. W. location by 1p.m. Friday.
As word spread, faculty congregated in the main office and the phone rang incessantly.
“We don’t know anything,” said managing director Charmaine Frado, who, unlike staff, had not been informed of the impending need to clear out lockers and supplies.
Visual artist Brian Burnett, who has taught at the school since 1991, was informed by phone to come get his things.
“Today is fairly immediate, it wasn’t like, drop by next week,” he said.
“Here’s what we’re doing, we’re going to put our game face on, and run this as business as usual,” Frado said, declining to comment further until word came from the school’s board of directors.
At 1 p.m., board chair Lisa Dooher confirmed the insolvency. During the meeting, staff could be heard yelling at Dooher, asking why they weren’t informed sooner.
Dooher left the meeting to withdraw cash from an ATM.
“This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said, voice cracking as she pressed the wrong buttons.
Dooher, who has been chair of the board for one month and a member of the board for four, said the gravity of the situation wasn’t known until Wednesday of last week.
“There were problems with the budget and how it was reported to us,” she said. “We were unsure if it was a real thing or a timing issue.”
It turned out to be real, a combination of declining enrolment and the monthly challenge of renting about 1,100 square metres in a trendy neighbourhood. The school had planned to move into a new space to “alleviate” the strain, she said.
The school, a registered private career college, provided diplomas and certificates. According to its website, there were 1,200 students each year and 50 faculty members. A non-profit, registered charity, it relied on donor funds and tuition, and was “independent of subsidies or government funding.”
“It’s a really good school,” said Dylan Willet,18, who is in the midst of a fine arts diploma. “I learned quite a bit. I hope I still can.” “It sucks,” said sculpture student Emily Curran. “I’m not sure if they can refund people’s money for next semester, it’s all pretty uncertain right now.” Florian Jacot, who has taught sculpture for three years, said he knew the school was scraping by, but he didn’t know it was so dire. Pay day is next week and nothing was confirmed about whether there would be a cheque, he said. As the day wore on, students pleaded with a bankruptcy trustee on site to consider other kinds of fundraising. The trustee told them it was too late, the school was already bankrupt, with debts that included rent and salary. Closing now, he said, before more costs were incurred, was the most “ethical thing to do.” As they packed up their things, students and faculty talked of resurrecting the school in some form.