HBCU Barber-Scotia just won a major battle. But this week, it’s ‘out of money’
Just weeks after a historically Black Concord college won a three-year-long tax battle, its president now says it’s “completely run out of money.”
Barber-Scotia College is a Presbyterian institution founded northeast of Charlotte in 1867. It’s been fighting its way back from the brink for over 20 years, after losing its accreditation in 2004. In 2023, the school was down to four students, all enrolled online. In fall 2025, it reported 114 students enrolled and, for the first time, had a football team.
Leaders at the 23-acre campus launched a five-year strategic plan in 2022. One of its aims is to lay the groundwork for having the college’s full accreditation restored. In the meantime, without accreditation, Barber-Scotia cannot receive federal student aid such as loans and Pell grants, which can make attracting students and maintaining financial viability difficult.
“We have completely run out of money as an institution. Many of our students have struggled to pay because they don’t have access to federal financial aid yet, and it has been truly a challenge for them,” Barber-Scotia President Chris V. Rey said in a Facebook video Wednesday. “Some of our major donors that we have relied on from in the past did not come through at the end of last year and early part of this year, so we are in a really, really, really, really tough place.”
Earlier this month, the school seemed to be gaining momentum: The North Carolina Property Tax Commission ruled 14 contested parcels on the school’s campus qualified for property tax exemption under North Carolina law, overturning a 2023 decision by the Cabarrus County Tax Assessor and restoring the school’s tax-exempt status.
But now, Rey is calling on donations to keep the school afloat.
“Right now, I just want to focus on this new battle, which is making it through the month of January,” Rey said in the video posted to his Facebook page. “There are some critical bills that are not going to get paid if we don’t figure this out.”
While the school relies on some volunteers, Rey said no employed staff, including himself, will be paid this month.
If the institution, which turns 159 years old next month, makes it over this hurdle, Rey said the school will need $250,000 in the bank to apply for accreditation. Rey shared a fundraising link in his Facebook post, and as of Wednesday evening, Barber-Scotia has raised $11,000 to go toward “scholarships, academic programs and campus revitalization.”
