Tweet
ST GREGORY'S FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL
by David Catt
Cumberland Courier Newspapers
http://rouse-hill-times.whereilive.com.au/news/story/st-gregorys-fights-for-survival/
Nov 2 2010
Australia
A DECISION by the Commonwealth Bank to freeze a school's bank accounts
over a loan dispute has left six students without a place of learning.
St Gregory's Armenian School at Rouse Hill was liquidated by the
Supreme Court and deregistered by the Education Department last month
after the school's directors, Daniel and Michael Ghoughasian, could
not access its account to pay teachers.
The bank froze the school's accounts in May 2008 and took the school
to court in March this year in an attempt recover $670,000 it had
loaned the school to cover debts incurred in the process of preparing
to build a high school.
In court, the bank claimed the school was in default of its loan
and had no viable means of repaying, although no repayments were due
until building was completed.
Associate Justice Harrison found in favour of the school.
She ruled that the bank had failed to give the school adequate notice
of its demand for immediate repayment, and that the original loan
was a commitment by the bank to see the building project through
to completion.
However, the bank did not unfreeze the school's account, which
contained $160,000.
The school announced legal action against the bank to reclaim costs and
to have its accounts unfrozen but in June 2010, with that action still
pending, former teachers began court proceedings against the school.
The teachers, made redundant in 2008 because of falling enrolments,
were claiming unpaid redundancies worth $100,000.
Justice White found in favour of the teachers and found grounds to
place the school, with assets of $10 million, into liquidation.
The Commonwealth Bank has a writ of possession for the school but can't
sell it because the Ghoughasians still have a registered mortgage on
the 4ha property. The brothers are back in court on Wednesday in an
effort to stop their names being removed from the mortgage.
* ST GREGORY'S Armenian School was opened in Mungerie Rd in Rouse
Hill in 1984 and is in the state's top 50 schools, according to
NAPLAN testing.
The school was started to provide education for Armenian children
living in lower socio-economic areas of Sydney.
As the school only charged fees of $500 a year, it relied on
benefactors and government grants.
It is understood that the directors also poured in $15 million of
their own money to keep the school operating.
From: A. Papazian
by David Catt
Cumberland Courier Newspapers
http://rouse-hill-times.whereilive.com.au/news/story/st-gregorys-fights-for-survival/
Nov 2 2010
Australia
A DECISION by the Commonwealth Bank to freeze a school's bank accounts
over a loan dispute has left six students without a place of learning.
St Gregory's Armenian School at Rouse Hill was liquidated by the
Supreme Court and deregistered by the Education Department last month
after the school's directors, Daniel and Michael Ghoughasian, could
not access its account to pay teachers.
The bank froze the school's accounts in May 2008 and took the school
to court in March this year in an attempt recover $670,000 it had
loaned the school to cover debts incurred in the process of preparing
to build a high school.
In court, the bank claimed the school was in default of its loan
and had no viable means of repaying, although no repayments were due
until building was completed.
Associate Justice Harrison found in favour of the school.
She ruled that the bank had failed to give the school adequate notice
of its demand for immediate repayment, and that the original loan
was a commitment by the bank to see the building project through
to completion.
However, the bank did not unfreeze the school's account, which
contained $160,000.
The school announced legal action against the bank to reclaim costs and
to have its accounts unfrozen but in June 2010, with that action still
pending, former teachers began court proceedings against the school.
The teachers, made redundant in 2008 because of falling enrolments,
were claiming unpaid redundancies worth $100,000.
Justice White found in favour of the teachers and found grounds to
place the school, with assets of $10 million, into liquidation.
The Commonwealth Bank has a writ of possession for the school but can't
sell it because the Ghoughasians still have a registered mortgage on
the 4ha property. The brothers are back in court on Wednesday in an
effort to stop their names being removed from the mortgage.
* ST GREGORY'S Armenian School was opened in Mungerie Rd in Rouse
Hill in 1984 and is in the state's top 50 schools, according to
NAPLAN testing.
The school was started to provide education for Armenian children
living in lower socio-economic areas of Sydney.
As the school only charged fees of $500 a year, it relied on
benefactors and government grants.
It is understood that the directors also poured in $15 million of
their own money to keep the school operating.
From: A. Papazian