Tuition Sought From Closed Chef School

About 50 students of the Los Angeles Culinary Institute rushed Deborah Godfrey on Wednesday morning, hoping the analyst for the Bureau for Private Post-Secondary and Vocational Education could allay their fears and answer their questions on the school’s abrupt closure.

The chefs in training were also hoping that Godfrey, a representative of the state agency that licenses private schools to operate in California, could help them recoup their tuition--$20,000 apiece--or the class credit they had earned.

“Not everything is lost,” Godfrey said, adding that the agency can help the students on an individual basis.

Godfrey told the students they have as long as a year to claim lost tuition money under the state’s Student Tuition Recovery Fund Act.

“You just have to bring proof of the money you paid this school and start at another one,” Godfrey said. “Depending on where you are [in the program], we can see if you can transfer to another school with a similar program.”

Beginning students can obtain a tuition refund and start fresh at another school. Students who are halfway through the program will very likely lose all class credit, but those who are about to graduate can negotiate to get a diploma, she said.

“If we find the owners, maybe you can get credit for your work,” Godfrey said.

“Schools are required to give students a 30-day advance notice before they close and help them find another school. Unfortunately, they did not do that in this case,” she said.

Christine Sauter, 31, of West Hills, said she was disappointed to learn it would take as long as 60 days to get a tuition refund.

“A lot of us have given up jobs to come to this school,” Sauter said. “We are in a tight budget, we don’t have two months. We are losing money as we speak.”

Sherman Lister, an attorney for two of the institute’s five shareholders, said school officials had been trying to recover from debts and pending lawsuits from previous owners. He said the institute is now broke.

Although schools are reviewed every year by the state, Godfrey said her agency did not notice any financial troubles at the institute.

On Wednesday, some of the chef instructors said they showed up in sympathy for their students.

“I always knew they had financial problems,” chef August Papa said. “I guess we were always hoping they would [recover].”