A Calgary private school is moving from the southwest to the northwest, and parents who can’t send their kids to the new location will lose their deposit.
Parents whose kids go to the Maria Montessori Education Centre say they were expecting to send their kids to the Currie Barracks location, and it’s not fair that it’s been changed.
“Shortly after we enrolled our first daughter we found out that the current location was a temporary one and that they were going to move,” said Monica DeMaria, parent. “But we were told they were looking for somewhere central and somewhere in the southwest."
DeMaria paid $1,000 for each of her two daughters last August before finding out the school was moving. She said even though the new location is only 10 kilometres away, it’s on the other side of construction planned for Crowchild Trail that could lead to traffic delays. She has repeatedly asked the school for a refund of the deposits but was denied. Alternate spots at King Edward School in the southwest were offered but the family was not comfortable putting the girls in an office complex.
A lawyer for the school sent CTV Calgary a statement saying the original contracts mentioned the deposits were non-refundable and that families should have been aware.
"We felt cheated on, we feel lied to, we felt deceived because they could have approached us prior to enrolling especially our second child when they're contemplating a move they could have approached us and say look we found a school it's up to you if you want to move there," said DeMaria.
She has filed in small claims court along with several other families even though they don’t expect they will get their money back, saying they just want to warn other families.
