Christian school faces financial woes

By Scott Jenkins

sjenkins@salisburypost.com

A small, 70-year-old Salisbury Christian school must raise $42,000 in two weeks or close its doors after this school year, the head of the school and a supporter said Tuesday.

Salisbury Seventh-day Adventist School faces an April 30 deadline to repay a debt to its conference.

Michelle Bullard, who runs the school as head teacher, planned to meet with Salisbury Seventh-day Adventist Church members Tuesday evening to discuss ideas for raising the money. And a business owner who attended the school says he'll donate part of his proceeds the rest of this month to help settle the debt.

The school borrowed the money several years ago when it had more teachers than its budget could support, Bullard said. It sought help from the conference to which it belongs, which includes Seventh-day Adventist schools in both Carolinas.

Bullard came to the school after that, and there were 38 students when she started. As the economy worsened, enrollment dwindled to just eight students at the private school. In addition, a former board member who handled finances "wasn't keeping up with things they way they should and we believed we had more money than we did, and things got spent that shouldn't have gotten spent."

Now, the school takes in enough money to pay its current bills, but no more.

"We just haven't been able to afford the amount from the past debt," she said.

And the conference has demanded a lump-sum payment of the total amount owed.

"I think they're probably at a position where they feel like if they continue to let it run the way it is, they're never going to get paid," Bullard said.

Church and school leaders are hopeful enrollment will increase next year and improve the church's financial situation, Bullard said. But if the school and church can't raise the $42,000 by the end of the month, she said, the school will be forced to close while the debt is repaid.

"We will have it closed for a year and hopefully make the money in that year to pay them and then reopen again the next year," Bullard said. "But it's always a lot harder to reopen once something's closed. A lot of people are worried we won't reopen if we end up closing it for next year."

John Klaver is trying to make sure it doesn't come to that. The owner of Simple Solutions, at 1620 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. S., says he'll give the school 100 percent of his proceeds from all in-shop computer repair services and 50 percent of all in-shop computer sales before the April 30 deadline.

Klaver, a member of Salisbury Seventh-day Adventist Church, attended the school and has a sister there now.

"I really do care about the school. I've seen a lot of students come out of it that it's been a big influence on their lives, and it's been a big influence on my life," he said. "I believe in Christian education, so it's really important to me that it continues to operate."

The church and school, which includes first through eighth grades, are at 305 Rudolph Road. The school can be contacted at 704-633-1282.