“If I have to beg and plead for your sympathy, I don’t mind ‘cause you mean that much to me. Ain’t too proud to beg, and you know it.” – Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland

We thought the issue was decided last year, but the story of Birmingham-Southern College’s fight for survival has more twists than a mountain road.

What has not changed is the small private college, founded nearly 170 years ago, is in dire financial straits.

Despite being associated with the United Methodist Church and not the Catholic Church, college president Daniel Coleman sent up a Hail Mary to any governmental body that would listen that the college needed a sizable loan to keep the doors open.

Coleman’s request of the Alabama State Legislature was a $30 million loan, and to his credit, managed to get a bill through the legislature that would allow the college to apply for such a loan from the state. His request received a big assist from Birmingham-Southern alumnus and powerful, longtime state senator Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills.

Most people, including myself, thought that was that, but the legislation required Birmingham-Southern to apply for the loan. The application process was placed under control of state treasurer Young Boozer.

Boozer looked at the college’s recent history and crunched the numbers. Without Don Corleone signing on a guarantor, Boozer decided this was an offer he could refuse.

In an editorial for Yellowhammer News, Boozer cited several reasons for denying the loan including a depleted endowment fund, overborrowing to build facilities, a downgraded rating on the college’s bonds, the college going through eight presidents in 20 years and a dwindling student enrollment. AL.com reporter Mike Cason reported Birmingham Southern’s enrollment currently stands at 689.

Birmingham-Southern sued Boozer saying he unfairly applied his discretion in the loan process and claimed the collateral offered by the college was sufficient to receive the loan. Boozer did not budge, and a state court ruled the legislation indeed gave him the ability to deny the loan.

The lesson applied by the legislature after Boozer’s refusal was when at first you don’t succeed, change the rules until you do. We now have another bill working its way through the legislature to help Birmingham-Southern, this one with a few key changes.

Instead of keeping the state treasurer as the administrator of the loan, this bill will place the executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in charge of granting the loan. Also, the loan administrator now must make a decision within 30 days of receiving the loan request.

Along with the state’s possible support, the college secured $5 million in funding – half a loan and half a grant – from the Birmingham City Council contingent upon the college remaining open in the fall semester.

Personally, I would like to see Birmingham-Southern remain open. By most accounts it has provided a quality education to students and has produced many notable alumni who have been a credit to the institution and the state. But here comes the dreaded “however.”

However, how do we justify a state government loaning money to a private institution? State government offering grants and contracting some services out to the private sector, sure, I can see that. Loaning out this amount of money seems altogether different and more appropriate for the banking world.

Proponents point out the significant economic impact Birmingham-Southern supplies the state and the city of Birmingham. No one wants to lose that. The legislation also allows other public and private colleges to apply for a loan.

Still, setting this precedent puts the state in a position where any private enterprise in financial trouble can easily raise its hand and ask for the state to swoop in and offer a bailout. This legislation is only for colleges and universities, but why is a private college different from a private business? Losing a major corporation would also cause a significant economic impact.

I do not see how you can make a distinction.

Why should private high schools be left out of this equation, particularly when legislation is passed to help a college with an enrollment less than 700 students?

Furthermore, recently closed Judson College in Perry County may have been interested in knowing such a loan program was even a possibility. We are redefining what the role of government in the economy is in Alabama. The rallying cry for economic policy used to be “We’ll get out of your way and let you operate.” Now it may be more accurate to say, “If you’re big enough or connected enough, we’ll bend the rules for you.”