Some kids raise money to buy sports equipment for their school. Some raise money to help Katrina victims. At Bridgeport High School in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the kids raised $6,700 so that a picture of Jesus can remain on the wall. They had some help from the local Christian Freedom Fund, which raised over $150,000 to pay for legal fees.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the West Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Harrison County Board of Education two months ago because the presence of a painting, “Head of Christ,” which hangs outside the principal’s office, sends a message that the school board endorses Christianity as an official religion. The sepia-toned painting has been there for thirty-seven years.
Eigfht national legal groups with constitutional law expertise have volunteered to help the school board, and “You Can’t Take Our Jesus Down” T-shirts were spotted at a recent public meeting of the school board. The plot took a new twist a few days ago, however, when school board member Mike Queen was asked by the West Virginia Ethics Commission to stop soliciting money for the Christian Freedom fund. Queen maintains that he contacted the board, and not the other way around, when he learned that others were interested in asking the board for an opinion on his fund-raising efforts.
