DeKalb County School District Distancing Itself Even Further From Big Donor Disgraced Black Mega-Church Pastor Eddie L. Long

Bishop Eddie Long has deep ties to the DeKalb county schools. He has donated thousands of dollars to county school and the school officials had started distancing themselves from him before the scandal broke and now they are even more cautious about their association with him. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, school officials said even though he has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the school district, he doesn't have influence over them. It is interesting to note how deep the tentacles of mega church pastors extend into the community and the city at large in which they operate.

Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson said she is not a member of New Birth and has had no contact with Long since she took over the district in February. That includes not supplying school buses for a New Birth camp, like in previous years.

However, the school system does have existing contracts with the church, including a lease for the Leadership Preparatory Academy, a K-5 charter school that opened last month. The district pays $122,050 a year for rent, along with maintenance, security and insurance costs, according to a lease.

The Destiny Academy Of Excellence, which is also housed at the church, was previously a DeKalb charter school. The school lost charter status, but has since reapplied for charter status....

In addition to the dozens of volunteers, Long would meet with principals and deposit money into their school accounts to use at their discretion for building operations, Moseley said.

School records also show New Birth bought championship rings for the Miller Grove basketball team, football and basketball uniforms for Miller Grove and Lithonia, meals for students in evening classes, and prom attire and school supplies for Hurricane Katrina victims. Source

It is a natural progression for big businesses and politicians to distance themselves from anyone famous that has been accused of a crime or the subject of a scandal. That's nothing new, but the church's association with the school district is worth a second look. The school district said they use the church facilities as a venue for graduation, why? There are so many places in Atlanta that they could use without creating the impression that they are in bed with Eddie L. Long. There has to be a separation of church and state. What Long has done with the school district isn't illegal, but there is no reason why the influence of mega-church pastors should encompass our schools. No wonder B. J. Bernstein said that he is a very powerful man in metro Atlanta, specifically DeKalb County.