Facing financial pressure, Birmingham-Southern College is hoping for a $30 million lifeline from Alabama lawmakers to stave off a potential closure later this year. But state legislators recently told Al.com that given the college’s private status, it is unlikely to receive such a bailout. Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter told Al.com that pumping state dollars into a private college would set the wrong precedent. “At the end of the day, I don’t know that it’s the state’s job to bail out schools, private schools,” he said. “It’s a slippery slope. If it’s Birmingham-Southern this year, who is it next year? What’s the next college or what’s the next big issue?”
