MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Hope is still alive on the campus of Bacone College.
A year after averting a sheriff's auction, the few remaining leaders are dedicated to restoring the institution to what it once was.
“We are going to get this place up and running again or die trying," said President Leslie Hannah. "Am I crazy? Probably. But it helps."
2 News first brought you this story in Nov. 2023:
Over a hundred years of Native American tradition sits preserved on the campus, virtually untouched since most students were sent home after the fall 2023 semester.
Hannah is left with a handful of staff members that are helping him get things in order, as he now holds the key of responsibility for the nearly 120 acre property.
“I treat this place now almost as if it’s my home," said Hannah. "I try to keep it at least halfway decent looking; I don’t want people driving around seeing it abandoned.”
He inherited the college in what some would call an irreparable state.
The school was put up for a public auction in the Fall of 2023 in an effort to pay off the more than $1 million it owed in debt.
That sale was halted. Hannah said it's his understanding that their largest creditor pulled out of the sale when they learned about all of the other defendants Bacone owed.
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“We figure about six million dollars will wipe the slate," said Hannah. "In the grand scheme of things, for an institution like Bacone, six million really isn’t astronomical.”
The board of trustees entered Bacone into Title XI Bankruptcy to hold off any additional forced sales.
In the meantime, though, they are being proactive.
They've sold off two chunks of vacant land - on their own terms - to pay off what they owe.
“It’s not as big as I had hoped for, but still a decent-sized amount of money," said Hannah. "Probably about a third of what we owe the major creditor, but I still have to hold some of that back to operate on.”
Because, of course, Hannah isn't doing all of this work for nothing.
“I would like to try to bring a limited number of students back on campus fall of 2025," the president said. "Probably mostly online with one day a week dedicated to come in and meet with their instructors. What those classes are going to look like, I have no idea… I need to get a partner institution, because going into bankruptcy cost us our accreditation.”
Most students had no other option but to transfer or have another college absorb their credits. But some were so close to graduation Bacone found a way to get them through.
In the spring of 2024, the last nine students graduated from Bacone.
Even amid the turmoil, Hannah said they have been receiving donations from people who want to see Bacone revived.
With that funding, the revenue from property sales and an endowment fund, Bacone's dedicated leader remains faithful.
“We can fix this and if people would believe in this half as much as I do, we could really fix it," she said.
The leadership team entered a five year reorganization plan with bankruptcy court, Hannah said. They will hear back by Feb. 2025 with next steps.
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