Graduation plans draw ACLU fire

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Graduation plans draw ACLU fire
Schools seeking site for end-of year ceremony find room, controversy, in church

For Enfield school officials, First Cathedral of Bloomfield offered a solution to a problem: a place big enough to hold the graduation ceremony for Enrico Fermi High School's Class of 2007.

But the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut says a church is the wrong venue for a high school graduation.

On Monday, the ACLU sent letters asking school officials in Enfield, and in South Windsor, which has held graduations at the church, to find religiously neutral facilities.

The organization contends that holding the ceremonies at First Cathedral violates the "establishment clause" in the First Amendment to the Constitution.

"We are writing you today to inform you that it is unconstitutional for Enrico Fermi High School to hold its graduation ceremony at the First Cathedral Church as planned," states the letter written by ACLU staff attorney Sam Brooke.

First Cathedral offers its facilities for corporate and community groups to hold conferences, meetings and other events, according to a brochure.

Brooke said the establishment clause - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" - prohibits government entities, including public schools, from taking any action that a reasonable observer would interpret as endorsing a particular religion or endorsing the practice of religion generally.

ACLU officials didn't return a call, and it could not be determined why they are filing the letter now. Both towns are considering the letter, but have made no decision.

Other school districts across the country have dealt with the sensitive issue of holding commencement exercises in churches.

Earlier this year, a senior at Palm Bay High School in Palm Bay, Fla., sued the Brevard County School Board over its decision, made despite objections, to hold its graduation in a church.

In her federal lawsuit, the student was represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which asked a federal judge to stop four Brevard County high school graduation ceremonies from taking place in Cavalry Chapel, a large church in Melbourne, Fla.

The organization charged that holding the graduations at the church would be unconstitutional because alternative secular facilities were available and because the church refused to conceal religious symbols inside the building, according to published reports.

In June 2005, Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md., ended several years of graduations at the Jericho City of Praise after parents complained that the church was inappropriate because of the display of Christian icons and symbols, according to the Washington Post.

Enfield Superintendent of Schools John Gallacher said he would give copies of the ACLU letter to school board members at their Tuesday meeting and ask the school district's attorney, Tom Mooney, to review it.

"We'll leave this up to the attorney," Gallacher said.

Robert Kozaczka, superintendent of South Windsor schools, said Tuesday that he had just received the letter and needed to do some research before responding. South Windsor made the decision to use the cathedral for graduation before Kozaczka's appointment as superintendent last spring.

The Enfield Board of Education on Nov. 28 chose First Cathedral from among four facilities reviewed by an advisory committee of parents, students and faculty members. First Cathedral was the committee's choice, too; it also considered Springfield Symphony Hall, Asnuntuck Community College and the Enfield Town Green.

The committee was created because the athletic fields where graduation ceremonies traditionally are held will be unavailable because of construction and because the school auditorium is too small and not air-conditioned, officials said.

Committee members said First Cathedral offered the most room and services for less than the usual cost of the ceremony. It has seating for 3,000 and parking spaces for 1,300 vehicles. Members said they were told religious artifacts would be removed from the church for the graduation.

Gallacher said he contacted the school's attorney in June and was told there were no problems with using First Cathedral.

Although the school board gave tentative approval to using the church - because it cannot finalize a graduation date until after April 1 - there is no formal agreement, Gallacher said.

In South Windsor, large class sizes forced school officials to look around for a bigger place to hold graduation. They checked several venues, including Central Connecticut State University, the Hartford Civic Center, the Connecticut Convention Center and the University of Connecticut's Jorgensen Auditorium, but First Cathedral was "the only place that was cost-effective," said Janice Snyder, chairwoman of the board of education.

"We didn't want to go and pay a large amount of money for a venue - it's taxpayers' money," Snyder said.

School board member Kathleen S. Daugherty said the high school gymnasium holds 800 people. With about 400 students in the graduating class, students would be limited in how many guests they could invite.

That would not be a problem at First Cathedral, she said.

Daugherty said board members received one complaint about holding graduation at a religious institution. But otherwise, she said, she heard overwhelmingly positive comments.

In Windsor, where the high school has held graduations at First Cathedral for five years, Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Feser said that a few parents have raised the issue of using a religious facility, but that the ACLU has never gotten involved.

Feser said Tuesday that she pointed out to parents who expressed concern the benefits of using the church, including its large capacity so more family members can attend, large television screens to view graduates as they receive diplomas, improved handicapped access, abundant parking, seating comfort, air conditioning and affordability.

"It's a church, but no one is proselytizing. The feedback we have received from graduates and their parents has been positive," she said. "In no way are we holding it there for the religious aspect. It's accessible, magnificent and far less expensive than the Bushnell."