Utah Southvalley Community School is officially closed.

"We got a call from Mike Condie, the acting principal, and he said they will not be holding classes this year," said Dave Wilkey, the executive director of the Utah High School Activities Association.

Apparently some students went to the address in West Jordan that Owner Bob Jones gave out, but the doors were locked. Some students said they were told there would be no school this year, while others weren't sure what was going on.

Several students showed up at other high schools asking how to enroll and whether or not they could play sports.

Wilkey said the UHSAA was going to treat the students of USC as if the school had been a sanctioned member of the association so it would ease the transition into other schools.

"We have a transfer rule that says if a member school closes, students can go back to their boundary school without going through the transfer process," said Wilkey. "If they want to go to a different high school, then they need to go through the transfer process."

If students choose to attend non-boundary schools, it could mean delays in their eligibility because the process can take a few days.

"We're going to treat them as if they were a member school to give every break in the world to the families who are caught up in this," said Wilkey. "This isn't their fault."

Wilkey said they'd approved every transfer from USC, and he said, "there have been quite a few."

Jones did not return phone calls Wednesday night, but said as recently as last week that he was certain classes would be held this year. The school's football team was scheduled to play its first football game Sept. 5 against Sorenson's Boys Ranch, a private school in Sevier County. They had also planned a trip to Japan.

The school's closure comes after months of financial trouble that included teachers and staff not being paid. Last week Jones acknowledged those problems, but said the future looked bright for USC.

"We're really, seriously a private school," Jones said in that earlier interview, adding that USC would offer at least one boys and one girls sport in each season. "We're going to provide the students an excellent education."

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