Valley Forge Military Academy Is Closing Next Year

The nearly century-old Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, will close for good in May, following years of declining enrollment, numerous abuse scandals and allegations of financial mismanagement.

In a statement posted online Monday, the board of trustees said the academy's future "is no longer viable" due to rising tuition costs and soaring liability premiums that few insurance companies are willing to back.

"Together, these factors made the Academy's future unsustainable," the trustees wrote.

The school, based in Wayne and educating males grades seven through 12, was founded in 1928. Notable alumni include General Norman Schwarzkopf, retired Lt. General and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, and author J.D. Salinger.

Trustees made clear that the Valley Forge Military College will continue operating a two-year associate's program on the Main Line campus. School leaders split the academy and college into two separate financial entities last year.

The Inquirer repeatedly attempted to reach VFMA leaders to discuss the school's financial position in recent weeks and received no response.

The closure also follows decades of allegations of brutal hazing and sexual abuse, which has led to a barrage of lawsuits over the years. Lawsuits are still being filed. Parents reported concerns about a new "fight club" in the barracks as recently as this spring, which they blamed on a lack of supervision, according to emails obtained by The Inquirer.

Meanwhile, tuition costs rose to over $49,000 a year as enrollment continued to plummet. The military academy recorded just 150 students in the 2023 academic year, according to nonprofit financial disclosures filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Amid rising tuition and cratering legal costs, the school's finances became increasingly unstable, and parents complained about crumbling campus buildings. School administrators began selling off pieces of the historic campus, and licensed its academic brand to a private school in Doha, Qatar as an additional revenue generator.

Trustees also began making personal loans to cover the school's operating expenses, according to financial disclosure reports.

In a video update to parents this year, President Col. Stuart B. Helgeson said that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an accrediting body, had required administrators to split off the Academy from the larger organization for legal reasons back in 2022.

But he projected confidence in the school's overall financial situation, giving a virtual tour of rehabilitated campus facilities and a new baseball field — albeit made possible with support from private donors.

"I wanted to show some progress," Helgeson said. "We raised over $2 million for the third year in a row."

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