WENHAM — The North Shore’s only all-girl high school has closed after facing financial issues.
The Academy at Penguin Hall disclosed in a message sent to families on June 13 that the school is closing, effective immediately.
Penguin Hall opened in 2016 as an all-girls independent private school. But the academy has faced significant financial hurdles since, consistently losing money and recently filing for bankruptcy.
“The board had made many attempts starting in January 2024 to correct the school’s deteriorating financial situation by seeking new donors, initiating community fundraising events and working with current and potential investors while at the same time increasing efforts to grow enrollment,” according to the message by board of trustees Chairman George Balich.
“This decision was made now because we ran out of options to secure the financial resources to start and finish the next school year.”
Enrollment was the school’s largest source of operating revenue, Balich wrote, adding that the school’s financial challenges came from limited donations and a decline in enrollment.
Penguin Hall operated as a 501©3 nonprofit corporation, and had a “negative fund balance” of $6.5 million for fiscal 2022, according to the school’s latest publicly available tax filings with the IRS.
The town threatened to turn off Penguin Hall’s water in 2023 after the school failed to pay about $18,000 in overdue water bills. Wenham Treasurer Belinda Young told The Salem News this week that Penguin Hall still owes the town about $6,500 in water bills, representing three-quarters of nonpayment, and $281.60 for a fire detail from October.
In 2023, the IRS placed a lien on Penguin Hall’s historic 48-acre estate at 36 Essex St. as result of $187,922 in unpaid federal payroll taxes, The Salem News reported at the time.
The school had bought the property for $10.35 million in 2016.
The estate was scheduled to be auctioned off on June 11 by the auction house Paul E. Saperstein Co., but the school’s recent bankruptcy filing forced the auction to be postponed, the company said.
An auction is now scheduled for Sept. 16.
The Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into Penguin Hall in early 2024 after receiving complaints about the school, though the AGO would not disclose the nature of the complaints at the time.
It was not immediately clear this week if that investigation remains ongoing.
Penguin Hall was founded by Wenham resident Molly Martins, also a former Wenham Select Board chair.
She told The Salem News last year that she and her husband, Albert Martins, have invested much of their own money into the school.
Penguin Hall raised tuition in 2024 to its most recent level of $42,800, a 40% increase from $30,600, and asked families for donations in an attempt to save the school.
The academy reported 70 students in grades 9-12 for the 2024-2025 school year, Martins told The Salem News Wednesday. Penguin Hall was able to finish out the school year and host its final graduation ahead of closing.
Penguin Hall enrolled more than 150 students at its peak just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in early 2020.
Contact Caroline Enos at CEnos@northofboston.com.