Most schools in South Florida reopened Monday after the winter break but not a small private school in Miami.
Normally there would be around 150 K-5th students at Allapattah Wynwood School but many of them showed up Monday to find the gates locked and the school closed.
"We're not able to go to work. All of the children are here in uniform ready to get an education and the school is closed, the building is closed," parent Tina Cintron said. "We're in the United States, we're in 2023 for God's sakes, how are you gonna leave a child, over 150 students out in the air?"
On Tuesday, the school remained closed.
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“It’s beyond frustrating, the children were crying," said parent Jennifer Hernandez. "They’re freaking out.”
Some parents had a letter from a law firm that told them the school was closing on Dec. 23, but several parents said they'd received voice messages saying the school would reopen Monday.
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But when they arrived to drop off their kids, everything was shut down.
"Right now I'm outraged at the situation, my son is in fourth grade, he's losing school, we don't know what's going to happen with the school, we have no idea what is gonna transpire," parent Jennifer Hernandez said. "We have no transcripts to even do anything, schools are not accepting kids in the middle of the year, it's a really frustrating situation not only for myself but for all of the parents."
The closure appears to have been cause by a legal battle among the family that owns the school. NBC 6 reached out to the law firm representing the school and haven't received a reply.
Herbert Fonseca Jr., the former assistant principal of the school, said he was fired last month by his own father, Herbert Fonseca Sr., along with his wife, son, sister and mother-in-law. He said he doesn't know why they were let go and said he hasn't been able to reach his father.
"I want the school to open whether it is with me or without me. Because I care about the kids and the parents. I’ve known these kids since they were in the day care," he said.
Miami-Dade County Public School Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres said the students will have an immediate place with the district.
“We’re ready, we’re very ready to receive students in our school district, we have immediate processes in place,” said Dotres.
"Let us know what’s happening, what’s going on, let us know the reason, let us know if you need more time," said Hernandez. "We can work something out, all of us collectively want the same thing, for the school to reopen.”
