A concerned district parent contacted FFRF on June 2 to report that a public input session for the Madison (Wis.) Metropolitan School District was scheduled at Life Center, a Christian church.
Asking parents, who may be of varying faiths or none at all, to enter a Christian house of worship for a public session to discuss the MMSD’s “guiding document” alienates non-Christians, including the almost 50 percent of the Madison population who are not religious, insisted FFRF Legal Fellow Karen Heineman.
Heineman wrote to Superintendent of Schools Carlton D. Jenkins that to fulfill MMSD’s obligation for religious neutrality and to recognize Madison’s diverse range of religious and nonreligious citizens, he must provide a secular setting for the Strategic Framework Recalibration public input session so that all concerned district families can feel welcome and comfortable attending.
The special assistant to the superintendent responded swiftly to FFRF’s request and confirmed that the meeting location had been changed to an area high school.
