Special needs school unlikely to reopen after alleged funds theft

Abdul Ghariani, 5, who suffers from Noonan syndrome, arrived for his first day at St Andrews on Wednesday only to find it closed.

DUBAI // Plans to reopen St Andrews school, the special-needs school that closed after its owner allegedly fled with its funds, look unlikely to proceed unless fresh financing is found.

The setback is yet another blow to parents who arrived with their children on Wednesday for the first day of class to find the school shut.

A notice attached to the school's gates announced that the school's owner, Christopher Reynolds, had absconded with the school's money.

Yesterday it emerged that Dr Reynolds, who denies any wrongdoing, had gone home to Australia.

Parents who attended a meeting with head teacher Barbara Blake, along with the school's sponsor and accounts manager, welcomed suggestions that St Andrews would resume classes on Sunday.

The proposed reopening was to be an interim measure to give families time to consider their options.

Mrs Blake said the school could open with support of its five therapists and three teachers, who are all owed salary.

But one parent said yesterday the staff had indicated they were reluctant as they had to concentrate on finding new jobs.

Teachers who had been recruited for the new term have been told the vacancies are no longer open.

"The teachers have said, 'you can't ask us to stay in limbo', and the parents have kind of looked at each other and said, 'yes, it's not fair'," said a parent.

“The teachers told us we should look at other options.”

Staff said the financial situation had been unstable for a year, and they’d had to wait up to two months for salaries.

The school is licensed by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which has been pressing the sponsor to keep it open.

Dr Reynolds, 60, revealed that he had left the country in an email.

“I have had to return to Australia to continue a legal battle over the custody of my son,” he said.

He has been in a bitter divorce battle with his wife, which was heard in a Sharjah court.

It is unclear how Dr Reynolds was able to leave the country as his passport is being held by the court, and it is understood that he was subject to at least one travel ban. The couple have five sons.

Most parents had paid the school Dh19,250 in advance for the first of four terms, although seven had handed over the full annual sum of Dh75,000. Some have lodged a complaint about Dr Reynolds with Dubai Police.

The school says he left it with no money when he cashed two cheques for a total of Dh201,000. But Dr Reynolds said it was part of Dh900,000 he had invested.

“I withdrew Dh200,000 of my invested funds in August to pay government and legal fees to allow me to return to Australia,” he added. “The accusation that I have taken funds is unfounded.”

The first indication that Dr Reynolds had left the country came when his monthly du mobile bill, which the school paid, shot up from Dh1,100 to Dh4,000.

Parents said their children had been distressed by the closure.

Zimbabwean Elizabeth Cozens’ daughter Georgia, 12, has attention deficit disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, and had been at the school for two years.

“Most of the schools here don’t support children with learning problems,” said Mrs Cozens.

“They supported Georgia here and she got a lot of confidence. She spent all night crying because she had no school to go to.”