Regency schools shut down, give only hours notice

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Just hours before Thursday's classes began, students of The Regency Beauty Institute found out class was canceled - for good.

The school announced it's closing all of its 79 campuses nationwide, including a location in Carrollwood.

Krystal Torres and her classmates found out late Wednesday night about the closures.

“Everyone’s a mixture of anger and sadness because this is everyone’s career, everyone’s future,” Torres said.

On its website, the school said, for a number of reasons, it didn’t have the finances to stay open. It had been in business for more than 50 years.

Regency encouraged students to complete their education through what’s known as a “teach-out,” meaning   they should complete their education at another accredited school.

“It’s just a matter of readjusting, changing our lives… It’s going to be a major adjustment for us,” said student Amanda Rosario. “I was caught off-guard because I felt like we should’ve had more notice,”

Also caught off-guard were the school’s teachers. They now find themselves out of a classroom and out of a paycheck.

“We take pride knowing that we’re giving them an education to something they can go out and be successful at, and we no longer have that,” said teacher Jessica Allen.

The school is telling students to pick up their belongings on Thursday from 3-5 p.m. and Friday from 11-1 p.m. After that, the doors will remain locked.