Is Licking Valley headed toward a lawsuit?

• There’s an ongoing debate about Christianity in Licking Valley Local Schools.
• The Freedom From Religious Foundation sent the district four complaint letters.
• The foundation claims Licking Valley schools are endorsing religion and violating the constitution.

NEWARK – What’s going on between the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Licking Valley Local Schools?

Is it a big, out-of-state group picking on a little, local school district?

Or is it a non-religious minority being mistreated and overlooked in a largely religious community?

There are strong opinions on either side, and the debate remains fierce. In light of the foundation’s fourth and most recent complaint against Licking Valley schools — charging the district is endorsing Christianity and violating the Constitution — here’s a quick glimpse at two lingering questions:

•What, specifically, is the Freedom From Religion Foundation?

•And will it sue Licking Valley schools?

Who it is

Freedom From Religion is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit. The group is based in Madison, Wisconsin, but has more than 21,000 members nationwide, according to tax filings and the group’s annual report.

At the end of 2013, the latest IRS filing available, the foundation had a little more than $11.5 million in assets.

During 2013, the foundation:

•Spent more than $255,500 on lawsuits challenging the “entanglement of religion and government.”

•Sent 938 formal complaint letters — much like the four sent to Licking Valley this year.

•Spent about $1.1 million on educational events, conventions and speeches.

•Spent about $408,000 on publishing, broadcasting and educational outreach.

At least from an operational standpoint, the foundation gets pretty high marks. Charity Navigator, which rates charities based on accountability, transparency and financial efficiency, gave the foundation four out of four stars.

The Better Business Bureau gave the foundation checks for 17 out of 20 accountability standards. The foundation lost points with the BBB for board meetings — because only two of the foundation’s board meetings were in-person during the rating period; for not conducting an effectiveness assessment; and for a high amount of ending net assets — money the BBB contends could have been used for program purposes.

Last resort

The foundation sent its first letter to Licking Valley on Sept. 23, referencing Valley’s marching band T-shirts from this past season.

The shirts are black with the word “Salvation” in white, a reference to Pavel Tchesnokovs song “Salvation is Created.”

The second letter, on Sept. 30, alleged that football coach Randy Baughman might have participated in a student-led prayer.

The third, on Oct. 31, was in reference to an elementary school assembly hosted by the Jubilee Gang. The Jubilee Gang is a Christian group, but school officials said the assembly was about character education.

The fourth and latest letter, sent Nov. 26, alleged that the football team has been using a chaplain since 1996.

Foundation attorneys said from the beginning that a lawsuit would be a last resort. The foundation hears about 3,000 complaints a year, staff attorney Liz Cavell said. It sends out roughly 1,000 letters like those sent to Valley, but it is involved in only about 10 or so lawsuits at any given time.

In 2013, the foundation was part of a lawsuit regarding a portrait of Jesus hanging in a Jackson, Ohio, school. That case ended with the school district removing the portrait and paying a $95,000 settlement.

Just this past week, the foundation filed a lawsuit against a school district in California regarding prayer at school-board meetings.

“We’re pretty excited about that case because there are some major problems in that school district, and they’ve been unresponsive to our letters,” Cavell said. “We do act as a watchdog and we do send letters to the school district letting them know that they’re breaking the law, but our preference is always to have any infraction corrected without any further legal action.”

Local response

Superintendent Dave Hile hasn’t responded to the foundation regarding any of the letters, but he said he investigated each claim and is confident the school district is operating in accordance with the law.

“Do I believe that the district has done anything that provides any of our taxpayers grounds for claiming the district has harmed them in any way, absolutely not,” Hile wrote in an email. “Have we investigated all FFRF complaints brought to date and documented those investigations, yes. Have we followed our policies, which are aligned to the case law, yes. Do I feel there are any grounds for a lawsuit, absolutely not.”

Licking Valley’s attorneys are from Bricker and Eckler in Columbus. They’re not on retainer, Hile said, meaning the district would have to pay them by the hour if needed.

The district has liability insurance, which would cover a lawsuit, but by the same token, a lawsuit would likely drive up insurance premiums, hurting the district in the long run.

After the latest letter, Hile said one of his biggest concerns is that whoever is making the complaints is not coming to him — or any district official — first.

“It would be courteous of that individual or that group of individuals to have this conversation with me before they jump to a group that’s out of Wisconsin,” he said this past week.

John or Jane Doe

From a practical standpoint, the foundation cannot, on its own, sue Valley.

The group would need a Valley resident to act as a plaintiff — someone who’s been “harmed” by the district’s actions. At least so far, it seems that might be an issue.

The Advocate requested, via the foundation, to speak with the complainants about their side of the story, but none responded to the offer.

The complainant could possibly remain anonymous in a lawsuit, a John or Jane Doe, but the school district would still know his or her identity, something that might turn off potential candidates, Cavell said.

“It’s a really small community, and there’s a very vocal religious majority who are all speculating about who the ‘one person’ in their community is who’s complaining and ruining it for everyone else,” Cavell said.

“There’s a lot of really ugly stuff that comes out as these controversies start to get public attention in some of these towns. It can be a really frightening prospect that’s not worth it for a lot of people.”

The foundation also would need a local attorney willing to help with the case, Cavell said. The foundation has five staff attorneys, but each is Wisconsin-based, making a local case difficult.

Finally, it comes down to resources, Cavell said. The foundation hears thousands of complaints but has limited funds; it has to decide how best to use them.

hsparling@newark.com

740-328-8822

Twitter:@hksparling