Even Elite Private Schools With Huge Endowments Got PPP Loans, Mnuchin Tells Them To Return Money

Allie

9 months ago

The backlash and subsequent fallout over blatant abuse of the Payment Protection Program is widening. The PPP loan program under the 2020 CARES Act was marketed by Congress and government as a way to “bridge the gap” for small businesses shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, large companies and heavily funded organizations gobbled up money effectively leaving real small businesses and self-employed persons with nothing to help them weather the storm.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal School | SAES website

These Elite Private Schools Got PPP Loans, Mnuchin Tells Them To Return Money

Not only have we learned that over $1 BILLION in PPP loan funds went to publicly traded companies, we also know through SEC filings that large companies with access to millions of dollars in cash, credit, and alternative funding sources also received the loans administered by the Small Business Administration.

Other institutions that received PPP loans include elite private schools for kids of wealthy parents.

Sidwell Friends, located in Washington DC, counts among its alumni Chelsea Clinton and Malia and Sasha Obama. Sidwell Friends plans to keep the taxpayer-backed $5.2 million PPP loan. They have an endowment of more than $53 million. Annual tuition to Sidwell Friends for the 2020-2021 school year costs as much as $46,490 per student, not including additional fees.

Another elite school that received a PPP loan is St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Maryland where Barron Trump is a student. St. Andrew’s Episcopal says they plan to accept the funds despite having an endowment of more than $8 million, according to a 2017 tax filing. They did not say how much they’re getting. Annual tuition to St. Andrew’s Episcopal for 2020-2021 school year is $44,590 per student, not including additional fees.

Other notable private schools including the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School in Washington DC, and The Westminster Schools in Atlanta said they did not apply for a PPP loan.

The Latin School in Chicago, which the Illinois governor’s own children attend, received a loan but then returned it after backlash in the community.

Manor House at Sidwell Friends | Sidwell Friends Website

PPP “Funds Were Not Intended For Institutions Like Us”

Nick Saracino, a spokesman for Francis Parker, said the school did consider applying for the loan but “decided that the loan was intended for others in greater needs than our institution.”

“There’s no doubt we will be affected by this pandemic but those particular funds were not intended for institutions like us,” he added. The boarding school withdrew its application to the program.

The Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia also withdrew their loan application stating the school decided that it “should not seek this kind of support when others need it more.”

“We thought it was not appropriate to move forward,” said Charles M. Stillwell, the head of Episcopal High School, which includes John McCain among its alumni and has an estimated endowment of $200 million.

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Big Companies And Elite Private Schools Have Unfair Competitive Advantage

Bigger institutions are able to tap their board members and donors who have connections to banks.

Jennifer S. Danish, head of school at Grace Episcopal Day School in Kensington, Maryland has this to say, “It’s kind of a wild thing that’s happening–you can see the pitfalls with the program. If you have a board member or a connection with a big bank, you’re more likely going to get it.” The private school serves mostly middle-class students.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called on private schools with major endowments to return PPP funds they received from the taxpayer-backed Paycheck Protection Program, after media reports of some elite schools applying for the loans meant to keep smaller businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Even the elite private school Steven Mnuchin’s own two kids attend got PPP small business loans. The Brentwood School sent a letter out to parents last week informing them that they had received the loan.

“It has come to our attention that some private schools with significant endowments have taken #PPP loans. They should return them,” Mnuchin wrote on Twitter Friday.

It has come to our attention that some private schools with significant endowments have taken #PPP loans. They should return them. @SBAgov #CARESAct #PPPLoans
— Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) May 1, 2020

Private schools are within their legal right to apply for the loan, as are many businesses, even as stimulus programs have been quickly exhausted of funds during the first round, some notable and deep-pocketed private organizations that received money have faced public scrutiny. A number of organizations, including the Los Angeles Lakers and the restaurant Shake Shack, have said they plan to return loans.

Administered by the Small Business Administration, the now $660 BILLION assistance program has been beleaguered by technical glitches, politicians fighting for their own self-interests on both sides, blatant shuffling of loans by banks to favor larger commissions, and multiple changes to the taxpayer-backed program after it was first launched April 3–leaving real small businesses and self-employed persons having applied for a loan that now has completely different terms than what they signed up for in the beginning.

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These Elite Private Schools Got PPP Loans, Mnuchin Tells Them To Return Money

Elite private schools with large endowments attended by the kids of wealthy parents have applied for and received PPP loans under the 2020 CARES Act.