MGT-420

Rancho Solano Project
The consolidation of Rancho Solano started with the selling of the school to a for-profit company that was already operating several schools both nationally and abroad. Moving from non-profit to for-profit status triggered many changes. The mission of the once small private school changed according to Meritas’ educational goals.
We must consider the fact that while the original Rancho Solano founders wished to have a small, close knit school that provided a unique experience for each student, Meritas’ focus at the new Rancho Solano Preparatory School, or RSPS, is more on international communication and learning. In fact, the company houses international students near one of the Rancho Solano schools that will remain open (Creno, 2014). Having housing in close proximity to campus for international students would be a huge plus for Meritas. Another factor to consider is the mission of Meritas to create the best school around. The belief is that the company can accomplish that by shrinking the amount of campuses and focusing on the two that will remain open. Dr. Mernard stated "I feel I can create the best school in the Valley with a laser-like focus on two campuses… " and “…I believe in quality, not quantity” (Creno, 2014). By consolidating campuses, it is possible to pool more resources to the ones that remain open. There will be more money available to the two campuses to provide state-of-the-art education.
Meritas had the right idea by consolidating in order to provide two campuses with the best of everything. It seems to be an ongoing problem with businesses that expand past their resources. The method in which Meritas and Dr. Mernard delivered the closure information was not professional by any means. The timing was bad, and there was hardly enough time for anyone to plan for the following year. Parents had the