Court rules Shorter College trustees out of line_61305

Posted: 6/03/05

Court rules Shorter College trustees out of line

By John Pierce

Baptists Today

ROME, Ga. (ABP)—The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Shorter College trustees acted improperly when they shifted ownership of the college to a newly created foundation with a self-perpetuating board and essentially broke ties with the Georgia Baptist Convention.

The 4-3 decision upheld an earlier Georgia Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the convention, which has been affiliated with 132-year-old Shorter since 1959.

The state convention and the Baptist-related college in northwest Georgia have been at odds since 2001 over trustee selection and control. School officials claimed that undue influence by convention leaders was putting the college’s accreditation at risk.

Shorter trustees voted in 2003 to formally dissolve the corporation, transfer all assets to an independent foundation and rename the new entity. The action was necessary to save the school’s accreditation, Shorter officials claimed.

While acknowledging that the board acted in the “good-faith belief that it was responding to a threat to the accreditation of the college,” the majority of justices said dissolving the corporation and transferring its $50 million in assets violated state regulations.

The three dissenting justices, in an opinion by Chief Justice Norman Fletcher, argued that the majority ruling held the college to an incorrect standard.

“We are happy the Supreme Court vindicated our position,” said Robert White, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Convention. “We have held from the very beginning that Shorter’s actions violated its charter and the law. We intend to continue our historical and long-standing relationship and friendship with the college. Our desire is to see Shorter as a fully accredited, growing, and financially stable educational institution of the Georgia Baptist Convention.”

In a statement to the media, Shorter officials said the school’s priority is to preserve Shorter’s accreditation. Bruce Brown, an attorney for the college, said the school’s renewal of accreditation after the dissolution was contingent upon the reorganization plan that limited the convention’s influence.