The Associated Press

MILLERSBURG, Ky. - Millersburg Military Academy has closed because of a lack of money, surprising students and teachers who were six weeks away from the end of the school year.

Acting president Jim Vicars said the school could not pay its staff or its bills. He would not discuss details of the school's finances.

The announcement Friday stunned the 28 cadets. The 109-year-old military school is the last of its kind in Kentucky.

Many said they cried as they listened to the announcement.

"As much as we all hated this place ... it's home," said Nathan Rahe, a senior from Cincinnati. He said he was expelled last year from his high school at home but now plans to attend college.

The school's six teachers went the last two weeks without salary and paid for their own supplies all year.

Vicars said he hopes the school can reopen.

A few parents spent last week on the phone raising money.

Vandy Moore of Scottsdale, Ariz., said $31,000 was pledged within a few hours. The school needed $114,000 to finish the term, she said.

The academy was known as Millersburg Military Institute until 1997. It was established in 1893 by Col. C.M. Best, who based the school on the motto "Right Training Is Better Than Riches."

In the early 1990s, enrollment fell to fewer than 20, and there was talk of closing. Alumni and benefactors stepped in with financial help and new management. In 1999, a Lexington Herald-Leader article said enrollment was 127.

But the school could not maintain that momentum.

Deborah Pate, the academy's counselor and science teacher, spent the day hugging students and cleaning out her classroom.

She said many cadets came to the academy with problems. One had attention deficit disorder. Another was fighting drug addiction. Another lost a parent.

"These were the kids the public schools didn't have time for," she said.

Many parents worked extra jobs to pay the annual $11,790 tuition, Pate said.

Because of the extra mandatory study time at the school, the students will receive credit for a full school year.

Still, that didn't make it any easier for most cadets. Many said the marching, push-ups and, above all, discipline helped them.

"I didn't like it at first, but I'm going to miss this place. Everyone becomes a family," said Isaac Warren, a junior from Barbourville.

Senior Frederick Rebmann of Lexington said two years ago he attended Lafayette High School, where his grade-point average was 0.75. Now, he was near the top of his class and a lieutenant colonel, the highest rank awarded to a cadet.

Rebmann said he knew his last day at the school was coming, but his soft voice and red eyes hinted at the shock of Friday's announcement.

"I didn't think it would be like this," he said.