MONROE, N.C. – The following is a statement by the City of Monroe regarding the closure of Apprentice Academy after their Certificate of Occupancy was not valid.
The City of Monroe’s Fire Marshal visited Apprentice Academy located at 2850 Old Charlotte Hwy, on Thursday, August 29.
The Fire Marshal informed school officials that their Certificate of Occupancy (CO) was not valid. The Fire Marshal told school officials they would need to go through the process to receive a new Certificate of Occupancy.
The Fire Marshal did not shut down the school and even offered to help expedite the CO process in the interest of keeping the school open.
Apprentice Academy moved into the Old Charlotte Hwy property back in 2019 and obtained a valid CO at that time. However, Apprentice Academy later vacated the Old Charlotte Hwy property. Any time a business or organization vacates a property, their CO is no longer valid for that property. The organization must obtain a new CO when returning to the property, even though it’s the same business or organization at the same property. Apprentice Academy returned to the Old Charlotte Hwy property earlier this year and did not obtain a new CO.
Apprentice Academy made the decision to close the building on Friday, August 30. Apprentice Academy’s Board of Directors made the decision to close the school entirely during an emergency meeting on Saturday, August 30 citing a number of reasons.
