March 2, 2014

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Neither the Episcopal Church nor the state are prepared to ride to the rescue of historic but largely empty Saint Paul’s College in Brunswick County. That’s why the private school’s property in the county seat of Lawrenceville could soon be auctioned off under a plan approved by the college’s board.

Saint Paul’s has a proud history. Episcopal Archdeacon James Solomon Russell founded the school in 1888 to serve black people being denied an education by white supremacists. After struggling in recent years, the hardpressed college officially closed its doors to students last June after 125 years — joining a small stream of historically Black schools like Morris Brown in Atlanta that have ended operations.

The board has hired Richmond-based Motley Auction and Realty Group to offer the property on a sealed-bid basis. Motley has announced that the college’s property would be offered in two blocks — the 183-acre campus with 35 buildings and a separate 400-acre of tract of farmable land. However, a date to start accepting bids has yet to be set, according to Motley.

There had been hopes that Saint Paul’s affiliation with the Episcopal Church could bring a flood of new dollars. However, the denomination has told the school it would be unable to finance a fresh start, according to the current president of Saint Paul’s, Millard D. “Pete” Stith.

“We have gone to the national church, which has generously provided some financial help,” Stith said, notably about $160,000 in three chunks in the past year to help with current expenses.

But he said church officials have told him the denomination “doesn’t have the kind of money that would be needed” to revive the school. “They are supportive and encouraging, but that’s the best they can do.”

“We operate on a shoestring,” said the Rt. Rev. Herman Hollerith IV, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia that includes Brunswick County and a member of the board of Saint Paul’s.

He called it a myth that either the diocese or the Episcopal Church “has the financial ability to bail out a college” because some members of its congregations are prosperous. “The majority of funds go to the congregations,” he said.

The bishop, who joined the board in 2009 after his election to his current office, said the school faced problems long before he arrived because of risky and wrong financial decisions. More importantly, he said, the school never created a vision for change for supporters and Episcopal congregations “to rally around. Saint Paul’s has a great legacy of service. But we can’t save the past. What’s needed is a vision for the future, and that has been lacking.”

Stith also has seen his hopes of a possible state interest rebuffed. Former Gov. Bob McDonnell had more interest in providing $11 million for creating a slavery memorial site in Richmond than in spending $5 million to revive Saint Paul’s and Gov. Terry McAuliffe appears to hold the same position. Stith lobbied Midlothian Sen. John C. Watkins and other legislators seeking to at least get language in the state budget to allow the secretary of education to explore a use for the campus. “The language was not included,” said Stith, who previously spent 26 years as a deputy county manager for Chesterfield County.

The board also has been unable to find a public or private university or other institution interested in taking over the college’s buildings. Stith said he anticipates Motley would begin to accept bids shortly and that the board would meet in the next two months or so to review them.

He said the board is interested in at least having the campus continue to have an educational purpose, if possible. He said the board could reject bids from parties it does not consider compatible, he said. However, Stith the board can only be so choosey because the money to keep limited operations going is expected to run out in June. He said he has kept about 22 people on staff, including four security guards, two maintenance people and eight employees of a day care that is still open on the campus.

The college has some major creditors who need to be paid, he said. That includes a bank that is owed $1.2 million on the college’s student union and could foreclose on the building if the loan is not paid. Also, the college owes about $1.4 million on borrowings to support its pension plan that has to be repaid.