(Bloomberg) — Riverside Military Academy, an all-boys boarding and day school in Gainesville, Georgia, has entered into a forbearance agreement after defaulting on its debt obligations, according to a market disclosure.
The military prep school for grades 6-12 students disclosed the agreement on Friday, just days after it announced new leadership and a “multi-year transformation” to focus on improving academics and enrollment.
The reprieve will last until Aug. 31, 2027, and the school will use a junior $8 million loan to provide bondholders with missed payments that started in March 2025, the disclosure shows.
Representatives from the school did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The nearly 120-year-old academy defaulted on its debt obligations after missing a March 2025 payment, according to Fitch Ratings, which withdrew its rating on the school’s roughly $48 million in municipal bonds issued in 2017.
The school saw enrollment plummet almost 65% after the pandemic, from 509 students in 2019 to 180 in 2024. Enrollment averages 205 students, according to the school’s website.
Schools across the country have been struggling with enrollment declines as the number of school-aged children shrinks, largely due to a drop in the nation’s birth rate. A smaller pool of students means competition is rising between schools — particularly at private institutions that charge lofty tuition — and it’s fueling a spate of borrowing to upgrade facilities.
So far this year, private schools — which can tap the muni market because they are non-profits — have borrowed about $467 million in the market, just $11 million shy of 2025’s total volume of $478 million, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
Riverside charges its “U.S. boarding cadets” $61,200 in tuition and almost $71,000 for “international cadets,” while fees for the day attendance are just under $21,000. The school notes that almost 70% of its families receive financial aid and the average award is more than $11,000.
Founded in 1907, the school calls itself “one of the few remaining institutions of its kind” in the U.S. Its programs prepare students to apply to US service academies, which provide free undergraduate education in exchange for active-duty military service.
As part of Riverside’s new strategy, which will be led by alumnus Nizar Zakka alongside a “group of mission-aligned investors,” the school will look to renew investment in academics, faculty and campus life, and also explore opportunities to license its name and model to international partners, according to a press release earlier this month.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Log in to our website to save your bookmarks. It'll just take a moment.
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.