Why a private school in Charlotte may be shuttering its state championship basketball team

Charlotte’s United Faith Christian Academy has at least temporarily shuttered its boys basketball program, and the move has left parents scrambling to find a home for their kids — and forced some of them to hire a lawyer.

United Faith has won multiple state championships in its history and has played in the past three N.C. Independent Schools 1A state championship games. Charlotte Hornets legend Muggsy Bogues once coached there, and two of the Falcons’ biggest stars, Ian Miller and Braxton Ogbueze, were named among the best high school basketball players from Charlotte in the past 40 years.

United Faith is a K-12 private school in southeast Charlotte, near the Arboretum. Tuition ranges from about $11,000 to $14,500 per year, depending on a child’s grade level.

“I’m extremely frustrated as an individual,” said United Faith coach Darrion Holloway, “but even more frustrated, and sad, for the kids, because they were looking forward to this, and the relationship I had with the kids and parents was second to none. They are really good parents and kids and I just wasn’t expecting this at all.”

Holloway said the school told him last week that there was not a basketball program at the school, though the possibility remained to have one. His school email was deactivated.

Holloway said four of the 10 returning players have left the program for other private and public schools. Holloway said he’s working to find the other six a home, but said United Faith is asking for a $1,000 withdrawal fee plus a portion of the nearly $15,000 annual tuition.

A group of current and former United Faith parents have hired an attorney, Charlotte’s William Harding, to look into the matter.

The Observer tried to reach United Faith head of school Mireidy Carthen via email, voice mail and personal message. All of those efforts were unsuccessful.

Harding, the local attorney, said he is representing six families and that his firm sent an email and a hand-delivered letter to the school Friday demanding that United Faith release the transcripts of his client’s children without charging any fees or he would take the case to court.

Harding said that one of the basketball players had relocated with his family from Maryland after being reassured that the school would have a season.

Harding alleges that United Faith waited until a week after school had begun to tell parents about the basketball program, when some fees had already been paid and transferring would be difficult. He said he believes it’s potentially a fraud issue.

“Now,” Harding said, “(the players) are literally in limbo and in jeopardy and it’s just wrong. The administration knew but did not disclose that they wanted kids to pay tuition. To me, it appears to be deception, and it’s just wrong.”

Former United Faith parent Lance Johnson said the problems began in late July — after the team had a successful summer league season in Greensboro — when parents were trying to get information about the new school year.

United Faith’s previous head of school, Susan Blumenthal, was retiring and Carthen was about to begin.

Johnson said parents were told that no communication was coming until after Carthen had officially started on Aug. 1. He said two groups of about parents went to the school to try to meet with Carthen personally a few days before that.

According to Johnson, Carthen told the parents that “she felt bombarded.”

“She started telling folks, ‘You have to schedule time,’” Johnson said, “and she would not share any vision or information at that time with the group.”

Eventually, Johnson said, someone at the school called the police, who did arrive on campus as the parents in the parking lot talking and preparing to leave.

Johnson called the entire incident peaceful.

“To understand that they would call the police on parents who were never out of control hit way low,” said Johnson, who has since moved his son to a new school. “A lot of parents were already leaving (United Faith for a different school).”

Another Charlotte private school, Northside Christian, was forced to close this year due to poor enrollment. A source close to United Faith told The Observer that the school has similar enrollment and employment issues, with teachers working multiple jobs and some classrooms with three or four different teachers in the previous school year.

That parent — who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution to their child — said the high school enrollment this year was about 30 people in the high school, and that included 10 boys basketball players, some of whom have since left.

Harding, the lawyer, also said his clients had told him the school had a high school enrollment of about 30.

The source also said United Faith has no girls basketball program currently or no other sports at all. A track team last year, the source said, consisted of two people — one boys’ basketball player and one girls’ basketball player.

Johnson said some parents began to question what was happening with athletics at the school in the summer when athletic director R.J. Pridgeon was fired.

“When they fired him,” Johnson said, “I kind of knew they had to be going in a different direction. As a new administration, it would’ve been an easy fix to keep him in place, so there’s one less thing to worry about. But it looked real funny and that began to worry parents.”