Morris Brown College paid $150,000 toward its outstanding water bill Tuesday afternoon to help keep the school open.
College officials still owe $65,000 to the city of Atlanta’s Watershed Management Department, which must be paid within 30 days, officials say. The two parties agreed to amend an existing court order, pending a judge’s order, according to a statement released by the city’s water department.
“We are very pleased that we have been able to reach this agreement and receive this substantial payment from Morris Brown College,” said Watershed Management Commissioner Robert Hunter in a statement e-mailed to Diverse. “We are glad that Morris Brown can remain open and continue its reorganization efforts.”
In December, the city of Atlanta turned off Morris Brown’s water supply as a result of an outstanding water bill totaling more than $380,000. The city later restored the water but only after school officials made a partial payment of $100,000. At that time, the college was issued a court order to pay an additional $214,000 by Feb. 17 or risk losing water service again.
Students, alumni and administrators hustled over the weekend and hit the airwaves Tuesday to make a last-minute push to raise the additional money but still came up short.
