My goal for this newsletter is to provide a regular plain-language summary of what has happened in the Oxford Street Education/Croft School bankruptcy case, and to flag key deadlines and dates.
This issue covers filings from June 11 through June 18, 2026. It was a quiet week, with only a few preliminary filings.
Given the slow week, I also wanted to briefly discuss what a Proof of Claim is (though I plan to have more details about that as the August 14 filing deadline gets closer). There is nothing anyone needs to do now; the deadline is not until August 14.
Key dates & deadlines
- July 14, 2026, 9:00 a.m. — Meeting of Creditors
- August 14, 2026 — Deadline to file a Proof of Claim
What got filed this week
Lawyers have appeared on behalf of Croft Bondholders
Disclosure: I am among those who hold Croft bonds.
A Boston law firm, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, entered the case on June 15 for a group who loaned the school money through bonds. The same firm filed a statement the same day listing each client it represents. A bondholder is someone who loaned money to the school and holds a bond — a formal IOU — in return. The school owes that money back, which makes each bondholder a creditor. The attached list, which was filed by the firm, names more than 80 bondholders, with estimated claims totaling roughly $9 million.
The trustee updated last week's sworn statement
The trustee, Harold Murphy, filed a short amendment on June 17 to the statement he filed last week. It rewrites a single paragraph about a prior professional connection he had already disclosed. The new version states he told the U.S. Trustee and the school's lawyers about the connection on June 5. It adds that they did not object, and that the U.S. Trustee reserved its rights while it reviews his statement.
Hiring lawyers and accountants
The trustee on Thursday also asked the Court for permission to hire lawyers and accountants, a standard bankruptcy procedure. Because the Court's website is down for upgrades this weekend, copies of those forms aren't yet available on Courtlistener. I'll post them next week.
A closer look: Proofs of Claim and setoffs
The biggest date on the horizon for families is the Proof of Claim deadline, so here is what that means.
A Proof of Claim is the form you file to say "Oxford/Croft owes me money, and here's how much." If you think you're owed something — for example, prepaid tuition or 10% tuition deposits — that form is how you get in line. You can take a look at a blank form to get a sense of what is asked.
The deadline the court set for filing one in this case is August 14, 2026. You do not need to wait until then to file, but there is also no rush or race to the courthouse.
You may come across the word setoff. A setoff is when two parties who each owe the other money cancel the overlapping amount, so only the difference changes hands. In a bankruptcy, if you owe the school money (for example, bills for school lunches or after school care) and it also owes you money (for prepaid tuition or deposits), a setoff can cancel those amounts instead of paying each separately.
I am working on putting together a plain-language walk-through of how to fill out a generic Proof of Claim in different situations (with or without a setoff, and how you might deal with, for example, provisional refunds from credit card companies or banks), and how someone could get the claim on file. There is an electronic version of the claim form available which is easy and straightforward. Nothing is due until August, so there is no rush to do anything right now.
Nothing here is legal advice. If you want help with your own claim, you should consult with a lawyer.
Key Links
You just read issue #3 of Croft Bankruptcy Updates. You can also browse the full archives of this newsletter.