Macon Promise Center Landlord Trying to Stop Lease Lawsuit Against Bibb Schools

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The landlord of the Macon Promise Center is trying to stop Bibb schools’ former CFO from keeping the district from leasing the building.

James J. Thomas is the attorney representing the Central Georgia Partnership for Individual and Community Development Inc. (CGP), who recently made a $5.75 million deal with Bibb schools that the district will pay over ten years.

Former Bibb Schools CFO Ron Collier filed a lawsuit earlier this month saying the lease is unconstitutional, because it incurs a debt that the district cannot hope to pay within the current fiscal year.

Now, CGP is afraid this lawsuit will jeopardize the deal, and they want the courts to step in. Monday, Thomas filed an emergency motion to intervene, before the first lawsuit on the hearing happens February 1st.

The former Ballard-Hudson middle school is being turned into the new Macon Promise Center, where it will house Promise Neighborhood programs. There have been questions about how the school district is going to fit that into their annual budget, and district auditors recently told school officials agreeing to the lease was not wise.