The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/830613
A-8 Local Wednesday, May 31, 2017 The Press-Dispatch Fishing on Prides Creek Lake Matt and Wendy Osgatharp spent Memorial Day fishing on the Prides Creek Lake. They said by early afternoon they had only caught a few small ones. The Winslow American Legion color and honor guard bow their heads during a prayer by Chaplin Greg Simmons. It was part of the graveside ceremonies the Winslow American Legion performed at numerous cemeteries in southern Indiana. Color and honor guard members are, front row (l to r): Nick Brewster and Greg Simmons; back row: Ron McGary, Danny Clark, Marvin McKinney, Roandy Wedding, Tyler Simmons and Kevin Hall. Winslow's American Legion firing squad performs a 21-gun salute at the Augusta Cemetery on Memorial Day. Members of the Firing Squad are: Terry Bogar, Brian Wedding, Marty Hall, George Robling, Ryan Nelson, Nelson Simmons and Richard Johns. Brett Nelson was the bugler. Joda Staats is the commander and Arthur Bates was the Assistant Commander. See Petersburg's services on page B-8. WINSLOW'S MEMORIAL DAY SERVICES PETERSBURG PETERSBURG FREE METHODIST CHURCH 202 E. Walnut St., Petersburg, IN • 812-354-6646 Across from German American Banking Center VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Free methodist churcH Monday-Friday • June 12-18 6pm to 8:30pm EACH NIGHT Lessons • Videos • Snacks • Games AGES 3 TO 6TH GRADE Seminary to authorize any charter schools in the fu- ture; and • an injunction prohib- iting the defendants from distributing any state tuition support or any other state funds to Seven Oaks Classi- cal School or Grace College and Seminary. "Our chief concern is that Indiana law permits reli- gious institutions like Grace College to decide whether to authorize charter schools," said Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, chair of ICPE-Monroe Coun- ty, in a press release issued the same day the complaint was filed. "Charter schools are taxpayer-supported and take money away from our school corporations, so on- ly state and local officials answerable to the public should be able to authorize them." Elisabeth Luff, who serves as legal counsel for Friends of Otwell Elemen- tary, stated in an e-mail on Tuesday, May 30, that the complaint "should not" have an impact on the opening of Otwell Miller Academy. "Grace College is aware of the lawsuit, notifying OMA when the case was filed, but was not named in the origi- nal filing," Luff wrote. "Bar- ring injunction and revoca- tion of charters granted so far by Grace and the other various nonprofit colleges which charter schools in In- diana (approximately eight other colleges with religious affiliations that charter schools), Grace may contin- ue to operate as usual while the lawsuit works through the courts." Luff also offered counter- arguments to each of the complaints' three counts. Regarding Count I, which alleges that delegating the decision to authorize a char- ter school to a religious in- stitution violates the Estab- lishment Clause, Luff wrote: "Grace College's own curriculum as an evangel- ical seminary does not im- pact nor influence the cur- riculum of the school it charters nor does charter- ing a public charter school establish a religious insti- tution as proposed by Alex Tanford, the attorney repre- senting the Coalition. Otwell Miller Academy will not be a religious institution, pro- vide any religious doctrine, nor blur the separation of church and state. All books and curriculum used by OMA will comply with the guidelines set up by the In- diana Department of Educa- tion. This year OMA will be purchasing the same books used by Pike County Public Schools to make the transi- tion easiest for the students – with no gaps in the stu- dents' learning." Regarding Count II, which alleges that giving public funds to religious in- stitutions for authorizing charter schools violates the Establishment Clause, Luff wrote: "This charge has been de- nied by courts in Indiana re- peatedly since 2000." Regarding Count III, which alleges that giving public funds to religious in- stitutions for authorizing charter schools violates the Indiana Constitution, Luff wrote: "Essentially similar to Count II but with the added concern that chartering in- stitutions receive an admin- istration fee for the over- sight work and auditing of the charter schools. Char- tered schools must report both to the chartering orga- nization (Grace College, in the case of OMA) and the state board. The lawsuit pro- poses that religious institu- tions which charter schools be required to maintain strict separation of funds to ensure that the administra- tive fee is not used to pro- mote religion. This argu- ment has been tried and de- nied multiple times." Amanda Banks, director of public relations for Grace College and Seminary, is- sued the following state- ment in an e-mail on Tues- day, May 30 : "As you may know, Grace College is not named as a de- fendant in the lawsuit filed by the Indiana Coalition for Public Education-Monroe County. We are confident that our activity as a char- ter school authorizer is law- ful and appropriate under In- diana State law." Banks added, "We are not aware of any impact on Ot- well Miller Academy." In an undated press re- lease issued by Terry L. Eng- lish, a Bloomington attorney and a member of the Sev- en Oaks Classical School's Board of Directors, stated: "It can be surmised that the lawsuit was commenced by the local branch of the In- diana Coalition, which calls itself the 'ICPE-MC,' for two reasons: (1) The student enrollment at Seven Oaks for the second year of the school's operation may well double, thereby pulling ad- ditional students away from the school corporations in Monroe County; and (2) the Indiana General Assembly, which has a stake in perpet- uating the charter school system in the state, has now adjourned and is not in ses- sion to politically defend it- self and its policies against the federal court attack. It might be perceived that the ICPE-MC purposely waited until the legislature complet- ed its long 2017 session be- fore filing the lawsuit." Fuentes-Rowher defended the filing of the complaint, noting that when students leave public school districts for a charter school, the pub- lic school districts lose mon- ey. "School funding is based on a per-pupil formula, so if the number of students goes down, the schools receive less money," Fuentes-Row- her stated. "It's not like all the students going to Seven Oaks came from the same school so we could save money by closing it. When one or two students leave a classroom, we still need the same teacher and still use the same electricity. There is just less money to pay for it, and programs begin to suffer." "Our membership cares deeply about the future of public schools in Indiana," she added. "By tradition, public schools are open to all, serve as community cen- ters, are a key democratic in- stitution answerable to the public, and provide an in- clusive forum where kids of all abilities, ethnicities, reli- gions, viewpoints and socio- economic backgrounds get to know each other. Char- ter schools and vouchers un- dermine the critical role that public schools play in our so- ciety. They divide us and fa- cilitate isolation from differ- ent views, and should not be taxpayer funded." LAWSUIT Continued from page 1 IGS receives grant to sample drinking water in schools The Indiana Geological Survey (IGS), a research institute of Indiana Univer- sity, has received a $1.63 million grant from the In- diana Finance Authori- ty (IFA) to help sample drinking water in more than 700 public schools across Indiana. During the next 18 months, the IGS will co- ordinate the voluntary sampling program with 120WaterAudit, an Indi- ana-based water testing service, the Indiana De- partment of Environmen- tal Management, the IFA, and individual schools. Teams of IGS Technical Assistance Providers, led by IGS research hydrolo- gist Sally Letsinger, Ph.D., will travel throughout the state to collect samples from drinking fountains, sinks, and other fixtures that provide drinking wa- ter across participating school campuses. Laboratory measure- ments will compare re- sults against the EPA lead action level. All data will be analyzed and summa- rized in a final report to the state. "The Indiana Geological Survey is able to support this important IFA water quality study," said IGS Di- rector and State Geologist Todd A. Thompson. "Par- ticipating schools through- out the state should ex- pect to see IGS person- nel at their facilities start- ing early this summer to begin identifying fixtures for testing." More information on this voluntary lead sam- pling program can be found on the IFA's web- site at http://www.in.gov/ ifa/2958.htm. For media inquiries about this pro- gram, contact the IFA at 317-233-4332. Got News? Call 812-354-8500