The Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District (N.Y.) has banned groups from using school facilities for religious worship after the Freedom From Religion Foundation urged them to adopt a revised policy.
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor sent a Dec. 3, 2012, letter to the school board informing the board that prohibiting the use of school facilities for worship services was “in line with current law and is the best policy option.” Gaylor detailed how start-up churches often take advantage of low school rental to establish themselves and collect church donations on public property, which amounts to “what many of us consider taxpayer subsidy of congregations.”
A church that had been using school facilities retained the American Center for Law & Justice, a religious right legal group founded by Pat Robertson, to object to the proposed changes. Despite this opposition, the school board amended its policies at its Dec. 17, 2012 meeting, adding “Gatherings for the purpose of holding religious worship services” to its list of prohibited uses of school facilities.