ComplaintsforSterling Classical School

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The first week of ********************** (August) this year, my son decided that Sterling wasnt for him anymore (all his friends had left to go to public ********************** and he was lonely) so we asked Sterling how to cancel and they said too late - you signed a contract that youd pay us $720/mo until February. That was the soonest we could leave. Now were in more of a financial bind because my husband and I have split and were paying for two households. ******, HR at Sterling said, at first, that we could show proof that we were split up (letter from an attorney) to be excused from the contract, and now they are saying no, we need to pay in full, BEFORE THEY RELEASE MY SONS GRADES to the public **********************. My sons friend had to repeat 6th grade this year because the ********************** did this same thing to her that theyre doing to us and its wrong!Weve paid up until we left. Why would we pay past the point of being there? Makes no sense!! Almost $3000 is a lot of money!!Please, please help. This Christian ********************** is not being very ******-like. All I want is for my sons grades to be released to the public ********************** and for them to consider us settled.

  Business response

  11/10/2022

  The family re-enrolled in February of 2022 and had until June 1st to withdraw the enrollment without penalty. Sterling provides families a clear explanation of the tuition policy and response to delinquent accounts in the Student Handbook and in the admission paperwork. Sterling actually has the parents sign in two different places (one on its own page), the tuition policy so that it is straightforward with no intent to deceive or complicate matters should events occur like this one.

  
  Here is the statement from the handbook:

  Delinquent Accounts: Student records will not be released to any accounts that are not current.

  
  Tuition: In order for Sterling Classical School to be able to offer an academic program of excellent stature, we rely on tuition funds as our primary financial resource as we select teachers, staff, and a building source. This is done carefully and with the assumption that every Sterling family has prayed through the admission process and understands the significance of their commitment. Therefore, tuition is non-refundable.

  
  When the family(mom) asked about possible withdrawal in August 2022 after school started, they were reminded of the tuition policy and then no further communication was received. In fact, the family (mom) then approached Sterling in consideration of bringing their other son to Sterling. They started the process and then indicated it was not a good fit for him and they were trying to push something that would not work. The school year has been going well for the student of this family and it was not until October that the family (mom) said they were thinking about withdrawing their son at which time they were reminded again of the tuition policy. The mom said that she was now responsible for both her boys and would not be able to manage the cost.Sterling asked for supporting documentation to support extended help in meeting her obligation, but the mom became defensive at the invasive nature of the inquiry. Sterling indicated the intent was to help while still being aligned with our policies in fairness to its original establishment. The mom never resolved the conversation or provided intent on meeting the financial obligation and proceeded to enroll her son in a local public school. Sterling shared with her again the delinquent tuition policy of not releasing records and then Sterling received notice of the BBB complaint. The last correspondence to the mom also included the father who is actually listed on our records as the responsible party,but no communication has been received by him. The last correspondence offered an extension of the payout of the balance for the family making the monthly amount less and our willingness to quickly get all records to the local public school as soon as the account was reconciled. Again, no response or discussion about possible paths forward to support their obligation.

  
  ****** calls us to be obedient and meet our obligations to those we owe, and Sterling relies on the tuition to fulfill the obligations to our teachers, staff, and daily running of the school thus our ask for parents to carefully pray through their commitments and make them with the intent to follow through. Everything is well documented, and a generous allowance provided to withdraw without penalty. It is under that umbrella that Sterling asks that the commitment be met.

  
  The public school has already accepted this student into his current grade. They accept students often without clear records (homeschool,etc.) and any requirement to repeat a grade is due to an academic need of the student.Sterling is willing to contact the school and verify the grade and academic standing of the student as well as the reason for the inability to release the records. This good faith gesture is to support the student and hopefully inspire that same response by the family in some plan for meeting the remainder of the financial balance.

  Customer response

  11/10/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  If Sterling Classical School will call the public school to communicate all that the school needs, I will be content with that. I still dont agree with holding my sons transcript ******. I feel that if no services are being rendered, why would I continue to pay?  Sterling School should reconsider the way they set up their budget or perhaps offer an insurance plan for real world scenarios to exist because they are indeed teaching to humans after all and life is anything but predictable. It is ludicrous to expect everyone to follow a plan to *** every year so they can keep their perfect budget. Great idea if only we lived in a perfect world. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

   

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩