Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Christian Academy (NBCA) is shutting down. The seemingly sudden decision by the 18-year-old academy is forcing parents to find somewhere else for their kids to go to school next week.
According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Carlton Donald, vice chair of the academy’s board, informed parents in a letter dated Dec. 22 that “funding estimates fall far short of our projected needs. It is a very sad occasion, as the NBCA board has made the tough decision to temporarily close the school.”
New Birth Christian Academy is a private K-12 school on a mission to promote educational excellence, foster character development and maximize individual strengths through academic, artistic, social and athletic experiences. The school had 221 students, according to the Georgia Independent School Association.
“We have operated New Birth Christian Academy for several years with substantial deficits in hopes that the national economic climate would change, however, that change never materialized,” said Donald’s letter. “We are doing everything in our power to reopen the school at some point in the near future.”
News of the school closing comes at the heels of Long’s wife of 21 years, Vanessa filing for divorce and Long taking a leave of absence from the Lithonia, Ga., megachurch.
Earlier in the year, Long settled a sexual coercion suit four former male members of his church filed against him. Long has also been named in a financial fraud suit and settled a lawsuit on a real estate deal in 2011.
