NORTHAMPTON — After an Amherst-based nonprofit dedicated to teaching children about racial and climate justice closed abruptly from a lack of funding, a former employee has filed a class action lawsuit against the organization, claiming more than $120,000 in unpaid wages.
80 Acres, Inc., a homeschool cooperative for children, began in Florence in 2021 and branched out beyond its original educational focus, adding a health justice component with a community wellness program and a legal practice focused on housing issues and immigration law. It later moved its homeschool operations to 100 University Drive in Amherst.
Following the school’s closure in November 2024, former 80 Acres director of finance Colin Mew filed a class action lawsuit against the nonprofit, claiming that he and 45 of his former co-workers were not paid their final paychecks when their employment was terminated.
Mew’s affidavit, filed in Hampshire Superior Court, includes a table of all allegedly unpaid employees, and a combined $128,764 in unpaid wages they are allegedly owed. It also includes a notarized transfer of the school’s land to Home at Last, LLC for only $1, stating that the president of 80 Acres is “close friends” of Home at Last’s owner Ashley Herring.
Although the nonprofit’s legal team did not appear before Hampshire Superior Court Associate Justice Amy Karangekis Monday afternoon, Mew’s attorney Jeffrey Morneau appeared virtually for a motion for class consideration — a status conference that aims to determine whether a lawsuit is legally eligible for class action.
“Mr. Mew has been very active in this case, helping out in all sorts of ways, and he’s an adequate representative in his case,” Morneau said. “He has done so much, including seeking an attachment of property that might be the result of an arguably fraudulent transfer.”
In 2024, the nonprofit aimed to expand into a full-fledged K-12 school, but closed in November that year after one of its “key funders” had not delivered “promised funds,” according to a letter to the Gazette written by 80 Acres President Adrienne Wallace in 2024. All employees involved in the lawsuit were terminated on Nov. 15, 2024.
“80 Acres is facing an unexpected pause in our operations. A key funder, whose commitment was instrumental in sustaining our work, has not yet delivered the promised funds,” Wallace wrote. “While we are uncertain about our immediate future, we are actively seeking ways to move forward and exploring all possible options to resume our work.”
Karangekis took the matter under advisement and said she expects to issue a response in the near future. Attempts to reach the defense team were unsuccessful on Monday.
