Parents pick kids up early from school due to Orange Park school potentially being evicted

A local private school is on the verge of being forced out of its building for not paying rent.

On Friday, parents were told to come pick up their kids in the middle of a school day.

It happened at Orange Park Performing Arts Academy International.  This is the same school Action News Jax reported about two years ago when the state ordered the school to close due to failing grades.

Court documents were filed this week ordering the Clay County Sheriff’s Office to put the school on notice that it’s being removed from the property.

According to the complaint, the school hasn’t paid rent since before November of 2018.

Carol Romero, a parent, said picking her kids up midday and finding out about the potential closure at the last minute was a huge inconvenience.

"This is a very special school. It’s a performing arts school, so they get dance, they get music," Romero said.

Romero said her daughter has been attending Orange Park Performing Arts Academy for the past few years. On Friday, when she dropped her off in the morning, she had no idea she would be called to pick her up ahead of their normal schedule.

"They were evicted, so nobody knows nothing, not even the staff. The teachers were good, and the staff was good. We really don’t know what happened," Romero said.

Romero said she was given a copy of the eviction notice from the school, along with her daughter's school records.  Dr. Alesia Burse, who Action News Jax is told founded the school,  said the rumors were false and that the school would be staying open. However, parents like Brittany Hinton said teachers told them the opposite.

"I didn’t know anything. My kids have scholarships here, so now I have to figure out another school," Hinton said.

The Department of Education is working to share the number of students attending on scholarship and the exact amount paid this school year.

The school's website is no longer active. However, the Clay County School District confirmed it's willing to absorb the approximately 50 students who attend the school if they need to.

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