Monarch School settles lawsuit

SANDPOINT — The owners of a theraputic boarding school for teens in northwestern Montana have agreed to pay nearly $1 million to families for abruptly shuttering the school in September 2017, the Missoulian reported on Thursday.

“We can no longer sustain the number of students we need to continue our work,” Patrick and Michelle McKenna said in a statement about the school’s closure.

The school has long had a connection to Bonner County. It was originally started in Sandpoint before relocating to Heron. It drew employees from Bonner County and the school’s students would play varsity sports in Clark Fork.

“In 17 years, there have been many changes at Monarch School, many changes in the population of students and families that we have been serving and many, many wonderful people who have dedicated so many years of their lives at Monarch School. It has been an amazing journey that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Thank you for being a part of our dream and our memories,” the statement said.

However, parents of students who were given only two days’ notice about the closure sued and alleged that the school’s operators used $30,000 per semester tuition fees as their “personal piggy bank” and held “shareholder” meetings in Hawaii and London, according to the Missoulian report. They also used tuition fees to purchase high-end vehicles such as BMWs and Mercedes-Benz as company cars.

The students’ parents alleged malpractice, breach of contract, fraud and other civil charges.

The Missoulian report said financial documents in court records indicated that school had been falling deeply into debt, which grew from $195,000 to more than $1 million between 2013-2017. Despite the mounting debts, Patrick McKenna is accused of repeatedly writing checks to himself.

In July, Monarch, the McKennas and Dawn Bristol agreed to a $925,000 settlement with the parents, the Missoulian reported, citing records filed in Sanders County District Court.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.