Monroe is the second Butler County school district this year to be challenged by an out-of-state group for crossing the church-and-state line. Middletown City Schools had to respond to a letter sent by a Wisconsin-based group in April that was complaining the district’s first-year football coach was promoting his religion by praying during team meals and workouts and inviting players to his church. Middletown schools ordered the coach to cease and desist as a result of the complaint.
The First Church of God, Monroe is proposing to purchase the property from Monroe Local Schools for $1. In exchange, the church would be responsible for all costs of remediation and demolition of portions of the building, estimated to cost $1.2 million.
The board and the church have been in discussions and negotiations for the past three years after the board rejected the church’s $50,000 offer at a public auction. The board is scheduled to vote on the proposed sale at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Monroe Elementary School cafeteria.
The Appignani Humanist Legal Center is the legal arm of the American Humanist Association. The organization includes a network of attorneys from around the nation and in Ohio who have litigated cases involving church and state separation in state and federal court systems.
Monica Miller, an attorney with the center, said Friday in an email letter to school board members that if they go through with the sale, her organization would demand all records of any appraisals since January 2011; all records and documents pertaining to the appraisal and estimates for the demolition, removal of asbestos or restoration of the building; all records board members relied on to determine that the costs of asbestos removal and demolition would equal the value of the property; and all emails and other correspondence between any board member and any other parties such as former board members, members of the First Church of God, Monroe, relating to the property since January 2011.
The property is appraised at about $1.2 million, however district officials have said the cost to remove hazardous materials, such as asbestos, and the building demolition would equal that value.
Miller wrote not all of the options have been explored to dispose of the building that would maximize the benefit for the taxpayers and felt more scrutiny was needed as board member Tim Carpenter is a member of that church.
Carpenter, who has never served on the church’s board, inquired with the board’s legal counsel who said there was no conflict of interest.
If the sale goes through, Miller said the school board and its officials may be sued for damages, an injunction, and attorneys’ fees under federal law.
She said the letter serves as an official notice of the unconstitutional activity and demanding that the board “immediately discontinue” its plans to sell the parcel. The letter said to avoid litigation, they are demanding the board respond in seven days and to list the steps it will take to rectify the issue.
The church’s proposal was to demolish some portions of the building but to renovate the 1,200 seat auditorium and gyms as well as the 1966 addition of classrooms that would be available to the school district as swing space during future construction.
Miller said the board using such swing space would only “symbolize the union of church and state,” and could seen as endorsing that particular religion.
In addition to the church’s purchase proposal, the other two options are to transfer the property to the city so they could demolish the building, or the board keeps the property and pays to demolish the building.
“We think this is sweetheart deal for the church,” Miller said. “…This seems to benefit the church and only the church.”
She said the same offer should be opened to other interested parties.
A group of concerned citizens formed the Since 1871 Committee in late September and have held a pair of town meetings and have voiced their opposition at school board and City Council meetings.
While the committee has consistently said it has nothing against the church, they believe that public land should stay in public control.
In an email response, a representative of the Since 1871 Committee told the Journal-News late Friday that no one from their group contacted the Humanist legal center.
“This was not done by any member of our group. We were sent the information for public release this afternoon. Everything that we can see by reading the information on their site, it’s pro-bono. We know nothing more than you in this unfolding event,” according to the email response.
However, Miller said her organization was contacted by several Monroe citizens and that her organization responds to legal issues involving the separation of church and state. She declined to identify the citizens from Monroe who contacted the legal organization.
Board President Leslie Stone could not be reached for comment on Monday. Superintendent Phil Cagwin said Monday he received a copy of the email from Carpenter Friday night, and he forwarded it to the board’s legal counsel to be researched and for an opinion.
Cagwin said the board will call a special meeting for 7 p.m. Wednesday to meet in executive session to meet with legal counsel about this impending litigation.
“I think it’s unfortunate that we’ll have to spend taxpayer dollars to research this legal threat from Washington, D.C.,” he said.
Selling old schools to churches has been done around the state. A native of Sidney, Cagwin said he was in his hometown for a district tournament game. As Cagwin drove around town, he saw his former grade school was now a church.
“I couldn’t help not to laugh at the irony,” Cagwin said.
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