DeKalb County schools officials said they have no plans to sever ties with Bishop Eddie Long.

The embattled preacher has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to county schools and other Atlanta-area causes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting today.

The school system has several contracts with Long’s church -- the 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist -- and at least three DeKalb high schools hold graduation ceremonies at New Birth, the county's largest seating facility.

Students at those three schools also have contact with New Birth youth ministers and volunteers, who assist the schools at football games and during bus arrival and dismissals, the AJC reports.

“I’m praying for my church, my pastor, his family and the young men who have made these allegations,” the AJC quoted one county official as saying. “Now is not the time to rush to judgment on either side, but to allow these cases to proceed in the judicial system.”

Long, one of the nation’s most prominent black ministers, has been silent since three men filed lawsuits this week alleging that he coerced them into sexual relationships when they were in their teens.

New Birth Charlotte, a 10,000-member congregation in Huntersville, was planted by Long in 2003.

Read more about Long’s ties to DeKalb County government at AJC.com.
 

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