A girls' Catholic school in Wenham filed a $26 million bankruptcy. Faculty and family feel like they've been swindled.

"Nearly a decade after it opened at a historic estate in Wenham, the Academy at Penguin Hall is closed, its dream of educating girls in the Catholic tradition ending in a $26 million filing in bankruptcy court. The 48-acre estate, with a stone manor as its centerpiece, was set to be auctioned on Sept. 17. The public auction has been temporarily postponed due to the bankruptcy proceedings. Before the filing, the academy had collected $500,000 in tuition for the 2025-26 school year, which led to parents filing lawsuits and a complaint with the state attorney general's office."

"Faculty at the grade 9 through 12 academy went unpaid for the final six weeks of the school year. In 2023, the school owed $187,922 in unpaid federal taxes, court filings show. Faculty and parents said they feel like they've been swindled with little hope for recovery or compensation. "Twenty-six million dollars is a lot of debt for a tiny school," said Deena Flaherty, who is out $24,000 paid toward tuition for her daughter's senior year."

"Court documents show at least two dozen outstanding loans, staggering debt, including more than $300,000 owed to National Grid for utilities, and overdue bills due to Verizon, the town of Wenham, a marketing firm, a photography studio, and sports equipment suppliers, to name a few. Martins Construction Co., owned by Al Martins, is owed $5 million, the filing states. The academy followed the Roman Catholic school tradition of faith, service, and learning, but did not operate under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Boston."

The Academy at Penguin Hall closed after filing $26 million in bankruptcy, leaving its 48-acre historic estate subject to a postponed public auction. The school had collected $500,000 in tuition for 2025-26, prompting parents to sue and file a complaint with the state attorney general. Faculty went unpaid for the final six weeks of the school year, and court filings show $187,922 in unpaid federal taxes for 2023. Court documents list at least two dozen outstanding loans, more than $300,000 owed to National Grid, overdue bills to multiple vendors, and a $5 million debt to Martins Construction Co. The board of trustees filed the bankruptcy on June 11.

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