Threat of lawsuit prompts Connecticut district to consider moving graduation to secular site
The Windsor School Board has directed Superintendent Elizabeth Feser to explore the cost and availability of alternative sites for the June graduation of Windsor High School, reports the Hartford Courant. The board asked Feser to check on possible venues and report back in two weeks, effectively delaying its decision on whether to move graduation from First Cathedral, a nondenominational Christian ministry. Windsor was one of several public school districts notified in November that it could face a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) for violating the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment, which prohibits government agencies from acting in a way that could be seen as endorsing a religion. "At some point, and it's going to be very soon, it will be fish or cut bait," said board President Milo "Rusty" Peck about the need for a final board decision.
Source: Hartford Courant, 1/21/10, By David Drury
[Editor’s Note: The Hartford Courant reports that another Connecticut school board has decided no longer to hold graduation ceremonies at First Cathedral. The Enfield School Board has voted 6-3 to hold graduations at each of the high schools. Like Windsor, Enfield was facing the threat of suit by the ACLU and AUSCS if they continued the practice of holding graduations at the church. The news story is available at the link below.]
Source: Hartford Courant, 1/27/10, By Shawn Beals