Buchanan County supervisors still intend to provide $3.4 million to keep the struggling Appalachian School of Law from leaving the county — but some details of the plan have changed, and county officials have made few public comments as to why.
Meanwhile, the law school’s president and dean, David Western, says that projected fall enrollment is looking much better and that the county funds, along with $1 million in new private donations, greatly improve the school’s financial posture.
On Feb. 12, the board of supervisors voted 5-2 to give the law school funding through the county Industrial Development Authority, in a bid to prevent a possible merger with Roanoke College.
But on Feb. 18, the board rescinded the agreement, according to meeting minutes. Supervisor Trey Adkins instead moved to provide $3.4 million to the school through the town of Grundy’s industrial development authority.
Under the agreement, the first half of the money will be provided in early March and the other half in mid-June, contingent on the law school providing audit, tax and other financial documentation. Adkins said that since the Feb. 12 meeting, someone had donated $500,000 to the law school, and said that the county’s $3.4 million is expected to help the school make ends meet for two years.
Supervisor Craig Stiltner continued to question whether $3.4 million is enough, noting that the school had initially sought $6 million. At that point, county officials still had not seen the school’s financial information, he said.
He claimed that $3.4 million could be spent to carry out 15 water line projects, bring six cell towers to the county and make 30 to 60 miles of road improvements. But Adkins countered that Stiltner had made no motions to do such projects.
Adkins repeated previous assertions that keeping the law school in Buchanan County is vital to keep other businesses alive in Grundy, the county seat.
Supervisors again voted 5-2 to provide the funds, stipulating that specifics of the agreement would not be released to the news media until all parties have signed it.
First payout on the horizon
The board met yet again on March 13 to modify the agreement.
Under the revised agreement — which the board approved 6-1, with Stiltner opposed — if the law school leaves Buchanan County, its real estate assets will be transferred to the county IDA.
County Administrator Craig Horn said the law school had provided the requested financial information, and county attorney Lee Moise said that the first $1.7 million will be disbursed once the signed agreement is in hand.
As of Monday, the new agreement had not yet been signed, according to Sandy Stiltner in the county administrator’s office. “Not sure when, hopefully this week,” she said by email.
In a Tuesday morning email, Western wrote that the agreement is finalized. “We are just making sure we have accomplished everything on our end.”
Cardinal News has requested additional information from Adkins, Horn, the county IDA and the town of Grundy, including why the agreement switched from one IDA to another and what the county’s specific funding source is. None had responded as of Tuesday.
Regarding the switch from one IDA to another, Adkins said at the March 13 meeting that there is a method to remove county IDA members before their terms expire “if we’re on different paths,” but he did not explain what was behind the comment.
Enrollment, donations increasing
The law school has provided financial information that includes budget estimates and “plans for sustainability,” Western said in his email. He noted that, beyond the county’s funding assistance, the law school has been pledged $1 million in donations, with $500,000 already in hand.
As for enrollment, Western wrote: “The number is fluid, but we are up about 30-40% on last year. Hard to estimate final numbers, but our seat deposits are double that of last year. We expect to be north of 100 for this year’s entering class … with the increased enrollment we should be doing very well.”
As of mid-February, the school had about 180 students. Last December, Western told supervisors the school needs 300 students to be sustainable.
Declining enrollment has hindered the law school’s ability to bring in revenue.
In December, Western told supervisors that the law school was considering a merger with Roanoke College. At that time, he said the law school needed about $2.5 million to stay open through this spring, but to survive longer term, it would need closer to $10 million.
The private law school employs 56 full- and part-time personnel.
The school was founded in the mid-1990s in part to boost the county’s economy, which had traditionally been the most dependent of any Virginia locality on coal mining. As coal mining and employment have declined over the last three decades, Buchanan County has struggled to replace those jobs. The county’s steep-slope topography has stifled efforts to recruit manufacturing firms or other entities requiring a large land footprint. Creation of the Appalachian College of Pharmacy in 2003 was another outside-the-box effort to generate economic activity.