Is Lon Morris in Financial Trouble?
Posted/updated on: April 7, 2011 at 2:29 am
JACKSONVILLE — Both employees and students are concerned about the financial situation at Lon Morris College. An anonymous employee of the Jacksonville School told KETK-TV employees got their last paycheck two weeks late and didn’t receive their March 31st paycheck. Sources told KETK the college was denied a loan that was supposed to finance the school, and it’s fueling rumors that the school is bankrupt. When station reporters went to the college, they were quickly informed by officials that employees were told not to say a word.
One concerned parent said her son, who goes to the college, said some teachers were packing up and leaving because they didn’t get paid. “One of my coaches, he didn’t even come to practice today because he didn’t get his check,” says one student.
Late yesterday afternoon they received the following statement from the Lon Morris President, Dr. Miles McCall: “Lon Morris College is a school with a proud tradition. Affiliated with and supported by the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Lon Morris College, like many educational institutions, often faces financial obstacles due to the current difficult economic challenges in our country. Lon Morris College is a private non-profit educational institution. Financial information is not public information and cannot be discussed until at which time all constituent groups have been briefed through the internal processes. The tremendous growth in recent years has put pressure on working capital. The institution has no plans to close at this time…nor have we quit paying our employees. We have delayed one pay period for several days while our accounts receivables accrued to a level needed to meet cash demands and we may be forced to delay some future pay periods in order to meet our student obligations. These challenges happen every day in local industry, educational institutions, and government agencies and often go unnoticed by the media and public. We are not immune to the current economic pressure.”
