Superintendent Rick McDaniel of the McKinney Independent School District in Texas, was leading a prayer inside Prestonwood Baptist Church during a mandatory beginning-of-the-year convocation for staffers.
When the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote to the District to warn them about the violation of church/state separation, they were told the church was the only place in town that could hold all 3,000 staffers. That didn’t resolve the fact that the superintendent was leading the staff in prayer behind a podium with a cross on it… but FFRF was told the event would likely move to a secular convention center that would be opening up very soon.
It wasn’t just the staff-only event. Graduations were also held at this church for years. If they kept doing that, the District could have been hit with a lawsuit because it was clear Christianity was a part of all of these gatherings.
Thankfully, these problems may be coming to an end. The District has announced that all future ceremonies, including graduations, will take place at the newly built Allen Event Center.
The district will pay about $40,000 to the event center to hold its three graduation ceremonies on June 8. Parents also will have the option to purchase tickets in suites for $25 a seat. That money will go to the event center, not the district, Cunningham said.
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
