DeLand, Fla. — Angley College, a small for-profit school in DeLand, hasn't paid some of its employees for months and, with declining enrollment, the school is now suing its former CEO. The school owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to vendors.
Tucked away in downtown DeLand, Angley College promotes itself as a school that puts students first, but financial problems have forced the school to abandon recruiting in exchange for fighting legal and financial battles.
The founder of the school said the real problems began when former CEO Raymond Nuziata misused hundreds of thousands of tuition and financial aid dollars for hefty raises, construction contracts and special business deals for himself and friends.
"Right now, all I'm worried about is getting an education," nursing student Cynthia Kelse said.
Students have heard about the school's financial woes, but are trying to keep their minds on studies.
"That's my one thing is graduating, and so far I'm doing that. I'm in class and that's all that matters," Kelse said.
The small college that teaches medical and business courses is now suing its former CEO, hoping the legal action will spare its demise. But enrollment that peaked at 650 students has dropped about 20 percent; add to that 50 percent of the staff leaving. The rest haven't been paid in months.
So, now the school is basically running on volunteers, although some employees say the financial strain has driven them to the unemployment line. But those who operate the college now say it's not as dire as it seems. They recently had an open house, they've just begun a new semester and last week they had a graduation.
Meanwhile, students who just started a new semester had praise and the school motto seems to be holding true.
"We have smaller classes. We're getting a good education. We have good teachers that work hands on with us, so we're doing really good," Kelse said.
Angley College has two campuses, one in Sanford and another in DeLand. They also have an online course schedule.
Operators said none of their classes are going away.