Bankruptcy Won’t Stop the Music at Grove School

One month after filing for bankruptcy, officials at the Grove School of Music in Van Nuys vow to remain open while trying to erase between $600,000 and $700,000 of debt that had threatened to permanently close the school.

After a Florida-based arts facility dropped its plans to purchase Grove in early August, officials feared the school would be unable to raise enough money to stay open in September.

By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court, the school has been legally shielded from creditors while it reorganizes its operations. Grove officials said they now have time to continue a fund-raising campaign to pay off debts.

“Chapter 11 will enable us to survive,” said Allyn Ferguson, the school’s vice president. “We want to get out of Chapter 11 as soon as possible.”

Due to a 25% decline in student enrollment this year and a new state tuition reimbursement law, the school lost about $1 million. The state law requires private, post-secondary schools to refund a portion of tuition to students who ended their studies in the middle of a session. Reimbursing such students has cost Grove $200,000.

In August, Grove cut its monthly operating budget by over 19%, from $260,000 to $210,000, said Todd Ferguson, school administrator and son of Allyn Ferguson. Four staff members were laid off, but no teachers or classes were cut.

In addition, the school has begun appealing to members of the music community for donations. Grove has graduated many professional musicians active in the entertainment industry, and the faculty includes Academy Award-winning composers Henry Mancini and Bill Conti.

So far, Allyn Ferguson said, about $80,000 has been collected through the Foundation for Contemporary Music Education. He said the school is hoping corporations will match private donations.

“We’re not close at all,” Allyn Ferguson admitted. “We really need help.”

The Grove School of Music developed out of classes taught in the early 1970s by Dick Grove, a successful composer, arranger and jazz pianist. In 1979, the school was accredited by the National Assn. of Schools of Music as a private, post-secondary institution that does not grant degrees.

Students pay $8,500 a year for classes in songwriting, singing, sound engineering and playing various instruments.