ATLANTA, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A historic black college in Atlanta is fighting for its life following the shutoff of water because of unpaid bills.
Morris Brown College has asked a Fulton County judge to order the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management to restore the water and allow the school to set up a payment plan, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Morris Brown has offered to stay current on water service and to begin reducing its $380,000 debt.
A hearing is scheduled Friday.
The city, which says 25 customers owe $37 million for water service, warned Morris Brown on the last day of classes in December that water would be cut off unless the college paid its entire bill. Three days later, the department made good on that threat.
On Dec. 2, the city cut off water at a large downtown shelter operated by the Task Force for the Homeless. A judge ordered restoration a few hours later.
In court papers, Morris Brown officials said that the water cutoff has stalled their effort to raise money to pay the city and other creditors. They say the college will be unable to reopen for the new semester without at least $1.5 million in contributions.
