Is there an actual controversy or constitutional question here? Should there be?

I don't think it's an issue. The school itself is not promoting religion in any way. No taxpayer funds are being used to pay for the

church. The church group is paying rent to cover the expenses just like any other outside group. In order for the Establishment Clause to

be violated, the school would have to in some way be supporting or promoting religion.

msoskil: I happen to agree with you. I found the "as controversy lingers" portion of the headline interesting.

They can't go to another church for the activities? There's no civic buildings?

I'm just having sour feelings there.

And it's misleading that the $ collected could pay a teacher. It should go to pay the custodian, those supplies, heat/air, etc.

So that tantalizing bit of "funding schools" really is a misleading herring.

GingerTPLC: A number of people feel that way. There is a lingering discomfort. But in a lot of instances, there aren't civic centers or

large public places that accommodate the space needs. But here's a thought, religious significance aside, could we look at revenue

generating uses of public buildings like this as community building opportunities as well? Just a thought....

If there aren't other spaces, sure, take advantage of the opportunity. In our rural areas, the school is THE hub of the community. When the

school closes, consolidating with another district, that community absolutely dies. So to bring in $ is absolutely a possibility.

I'd caution to be sure to charge for all expenses and don't count any of it as revenue unless you're charging beyond the actual real

costs of hosting the event. Which, I'm guessing, will be minimal at best.

But I still don't like it. What if large numbers of non-Christian religious groups were interested in doing this?

Would communities allow this?

So if not, why not? Because they're afraid of the "lingering consequences?"

Yep. Me too.

Very good points.

That said, your earlier point about schools being the hub of communities is spot on. We don't tend to think of "revenue generation" and

"education" in the same breath. But that's changing in some interesting ways. The how, when, where and why is a subject for a different

thread on a different day....