Closed behavioral schools to be auctioned

North Idaho behavioral schools that abruptly closed in March when the parent company went bankrupt will go on the auction block Wednesday.

The Boundary County schools, along with others in California and Vermont, will be sold as part of a bankruptcy auction. CEDU Educational Services and its parent company, The Brown Schools Inc., filed for bankruptcy in March.

About 300 people in North Idaho lost their jobs when CEDU announced March 25 that it was closing Boundary County’s Boulder Creek Academy and Northwest Academy. The closure of the two schools for troubled teens came a month after the company closed its flagship Rocky Mountain Academy in Naples, Idaho.

Paul Johnson, former director of Boulder Creek Academy, has stayed on as an employee, giving tours to prospective bidders.

“All the interested buyers I’ve talked to want them to start back up as schools,” Johnson said Monday. “The chances are high that they will use them as schools.”

Johnson said many prospective buyers have expressed interest in rehiring some of the employees who lost their jobs. He said some of those former employees are interested in coming back to work, too.

“I have employees who call me every day,” Johnson said.

The CEDU schools were Boundary County’s largest private employer. The county has a 9.3 percent unemployment rate – third highest in Idaho, according to state statistics. That compares with about 7.4 percent a year ago – an increase state officials attribute to the schools’ closure.

George Miller, the bankruptcy trustee, said there has been a lot of interest in the Idaho properties up for auction. A hearing is scheduled for Friday, when a judge will either approve or disapprove of the sales.