Tax Files Show Harlem Art School’s Path to Ruin
By TRYMAINE LEE and RUSS BUETTNER
Published: April 8, 2010
Enlarge This ImageThe Harlem School of the Arts, celebrated for equipping local children with skills in everything from dance to classical music, had for decades been a favorite of the city’s most charitable donors.
Ángel Franco/The New York Times
A rally Thursday at the Harlem School of the Arts, which parents, students and alumni still hope will not be closed permanently.
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Harlem Arts School Shuts Over Financial Problems (April 3, 2010)
Ángel Franco/The New York Times
Christopher Paci and Cindy Augustino, of the school's board, on Thursday, when a decision on the school's fate was postponed.
But in recent years, the nonprofit school sank into financial ruin: a $2 million surplus melted into a deficit of more than $1 million. A $1.5 million grant and the proceeds from a $1 million loan evaporated. Nearly half a million dollars in payroll taxes went unpaid.
The consequences now seem clear: The school has closed its doors, perhaps forever, locking out neighborhood children who dreamed of competing with their moneyed counterparts around the city for coveted arts slots at high schools and colleges.
“It’s devastating,” said Linda Hall, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jalin, has taken classes there after school or on weekends for the past 10 years. “It’s like losing your best friend and knowing they can never come back to you.”
School leaders, who are seeking what they describe as “angels” to provide a last-minute rescue, have recently blamed the national recession, which hurt many charitable organizations, for the difficulties. But in response to questions, the chairman of the school’s board said the school’s president was fired last year in part due to the financial problems, and the fact that she and others had