Morris Brown hits water bill deadline

A lion of the civil rights movement took to the airwaves Monday in a last-minute pitch to keep the water flowing — and the doors open — at Morris Brown College.

Meanwhile, some members of the Atlanta City Council said they have reached out to Atlanta Watershed Management Commissioner Rob Hunter to see what can be done to keep the college’s water on.

Enlarge this image

Kimberly Smith/ksmith@ajc.com

From left, William Browning and John Freeman, both business administration majors from College Park, Matthew Nelson, a business adminstration major from Inglewood, Calif., and Jordan Tobler, a business management major from Atlanta, discuss the school’s future outside the Hickman Student Center.

RELATED:
• Gospel fund-raiser for Morris Brown
• More about Atlanta's colleges

Higher education

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

• Interactive database: They charge, we pay
• Topic page: Atlanta universities and colleges

The school faces a deadline of Tuesday to pay $214,000 in previous bills or lose its water service. Interim Morris Brown President Stanley Pritchett said late Monday that the college had about $60,000 toward the debt.

Pritchett said he hopes donors will come forward before 5 p.m. Tuesday to cover the full amount or, if that fails, that city officials will accept a partial payment.

Atlanta water officials said over the weekend they will not grant Morris Brown an extension.

“There’s got to be some way for us to get this worked out,” said City Councilman C.T. Martin, who represents portions of southwest Atlanta.

The Rev. C.T. Vivian, a lieutenant of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., spent several hours Monday urging listeners of WAOK-AM to send at least $20 toward the school’s overdue water bills.

Fewer than 200 students are registered for the spring semester.

“We’re asking that we keep these students here,” said Vivian. “These kids would have to go home. They would have lost a year of their lives.”

The college lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2002, largely because of its financial state. The school closed temporarily in December because officials had shut down the water. Service was restored after officials made a $100,000 payment. Some students expressed optimism that Morris Brown will survive.

“It’s just stressful, but I think they’ll get it together,” said Jordan Tobler, a business management major from Atlanta.

Business administration major William Browning of College Park said some people assume the school already has lost its battle to keep from closing.

“You tell people you go to Morris Brown,” he said, “and they ask if it’s still open.”

— Staff photographer Kimberly Smith contributed to this article.