They had Miss Teufel as the Latin teacher.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Reader pays late tuition for Lutheran school student
After student was kicked out, community debate followed.
By GREG HARDESTY
The Orange County Register
ORANGE Dakota "Cody" Thompson is taking his finals – and couldn't be happier.
The Orange Lutheran High School student will be able to complete his academic requirements and move on to his senior year after his father paid off a $8,370 tuition bill this week.
The private school's decision last week to prevent Cody from taking his finals sparked intense community debate, with some criticizing Orange Lutheran and others laying the blame on his father, who fell behind on tuition payments when his business tanked because of the recession.
Orange Lutheran, closed for the summer since last Friday, made arrangements for Cody, 17, to take his math final Thursday and history final today. The youth, a pitcher on the Lancers' baseball team, will take his English final on Monday.
"All parties are pleased that the tuition is paid and the issue is resolved," Orange Lutheran Executive Director Gregg Pinick said in a statement.
Jeff Thompson, Cody's father, paid a portion of the bill last week, before finals.
After the Register reported last week that Cody had been prevented from taking finals, Thompson received several calls from relatives and friends to loan him money to help pay the balance.
A reader contacted him and paid the balance. Thompson said the reader wishes to remain anonymous.
"They did what they said – they allowed him to take his finals immediately," Thompson said of Orange Lutheran. "There are a lot of nice people who work at the school who offered a lot of support to Cody."
HARD TIMES
In an interview last week, Thompson, 52, produced bank statements and other paperwork that showed he had fallen on hard times when his automotive-related business started losing clients in the fall.
One document showed that his 401k retirement fund had dwindled to less than $17,000. Thompson says he supports Cody and a 21-year-old daughter on those savings as he continues to look for work.
Thompson is embroiled in a legal battle with his former wife over legal fees and a custody issue stemming from their divorce in 2006. In an interview, his former wife blamed him for not keeping up with the tuition payments.
Thompson stopped making the monthly tuition payments of around $1,200 to Orange Lutheran last fall.
The school contacted him in January, asking for $500. That was the last payment Thompson made.
He received a letter from Orange Lutheran in mid-May warning him that Cody would not be allowed to take finals unless tuition payments were made current.
Thompson blames the school for not raising that scenario back in January, saying he would have put Cody in a public school. He said he didn't think of getting on a payment plan because he thought he would find a job soon and be able to pay off the bill.
As finals week approached, Thompson offered to pay $2,500 so his son could take his finals. But Orange Lutheran told him he would have to come up with the entire $8,370.
Cody showed up for finals anyway, hoping school officials would let him take the test. But a security guard stopped him at the last minute and escorted him to the main office.
The next day, in a class that did not involve a final, Cody was told to leave the class and go home.
SCHOOL STATEMENT
Pinick said Orange Lutheran did its best to warn Thompson that Cody would not be allowed to take exams if the money wasn't paid.
"The policies followed by the school as to financial aid, tuition requirements, attendance, and the taking of finals have been in place for 20 years," Pinick said in a statement. "State law prohibits a school from withholding transcripts once a final is taken, so our policy on tuition and finals must take that into consideration."
A single sentence titled "Delinquent Financial Obligations" in Orange Lutheran's parent/student handbook does not mention finals.
The sentence reads, "The school declares exception to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act. Records are NOT released if financial obligations are delinquent."
In his statement, Pinick said Orange Lutheran dedicates more than $1 million annually to a financial aid program that serves more than 300 families.
"Each family's need is unique, and we take every aspect of their circumstances into account," Pinick said.
"We make every effort to 'meet them where they are' with regards to financial obligations, and we do alter payment plans when unforeseen financial circumstances arise.
"We wish Cody and his family all the best."
More than 5,500 readers responded to a poll in the Register about Cody not being allowed to take his finals.
By a 2-1 margin, readers said the school could have come up with a better alternative. One-third of readers said Cody's father should have avoided a last-minute dilemma by dealing with the tuition issue sooner.
Kevin Orton, a reader, has a son at Orange Lutheran who will be a senior next year and a daughter who will be an incoming freshman.
"They keep the door open and communicate to parents about finances," said Orton, who like Thompson is having difficulty finding work.
"The fact that communication between (Thompson) and the school collapsed is not the school's fault."
Andrea Lorenz, 42, of Yorba Linda, said she went through a saga similar to Thompson.
Her daughter, Lexi, 16, attended Orange Lutheran until May 20 when Lorenz and relatives could not come up with $4,000 in late tuition. The school offered a monthly payment plan but the lowest -- $380 – still was too high, she said.
"I wish my daughter didn't have to suffer and that they (Orange Lutheran) were more understanding about the economy, but it is what it is," Lorenz said. "I know a lot of kids who aren't coming back because of this issue."
As for Thompson, he's enrolling Cody in a public school this fall.
