Advance Newspapers, Ottawa County, MI
March 30, 1999

Change in religious policy doesn’t sway parents suing charter school
By BRIAN OBERMILLER

Four parents of students attending Vanguard Charter Academy in Wyoming are moving forward with a suit against the school, saying a recently enacted policy to limit the role of religion in school instruction does not adequately address their concerns.

Megan Daugherty, Don Sweeny, and Jeff and Cathy Seaver are anticipating a March 2000 appearance in U.S. District Court with representatives from Vanguard Charter School Academy, Grand Valley State University, and National Heritage Academies, (NHA), the management company for Vanguard.

Holland attorney Kary Love filed suit in December on behalf of the parents, charging the school was promoting Christian beliefs and, ln the process, violating the establishment clause of the Constitution forbidding a state-endorsed religion in a public school.

In response to the lawsuit, the Vanguard School Board recently adopted a 20-page policy drafted by Grand Rapids lawyer Candace Sorensen that outlines when and how religion can be discussed at the charter school, located at 1520 52nd St. SW.

Vanguard, which began holding classes in the 1996-97 school year, previously had no such policy. Seaver said that as early as 1997, Vanguard parents began asking the school board to implement some sort of policy regulating religious activities.

The new policy allows for discussion of religious issues in the classroom for educational purposes but prohibits the promotion of a single religion. That policy is consistent with Constitutional rulings, but inconsistent with previous actions allegedly taken by Vanguard staff and parents, according to plaintiffs’ briefs and affidavits.

A plaintiffs’ brief submitted to U.S. District Judge David W. McKeague in December describes a teacher/administrator retreat attended by on Oct. 23, 1998, at Ridgepoint Community Church in Holland to address the moral focus component of all NHA schools in Michigan. Staff attendance at the retreat was mandatory and students were sent home for the day, according to the suit.

The brief stated that the retreat opened with the Christian song “When You Are a Soldier,’” a prayer before lunch, and a speech given by Rev. John Reist that was “saturated with references to God, Jesus and Biblical Scripture.”

The brief alleges other "activities of a religious nature" including "The Mom's Prayer Group" which met to conduct a prayer service each week during school hours and on Vanguard premises. The Mom's Prayer Group also sponsored a monthly luncheon for teachers in Vanguard's "Parent's Room." The brief states The Mom's Prayer Group had its own mailbox in the school's central office until shortly before the suit was brought in December.

The brief also alleges the Parent's Room, which is accessible to students, contained literature of a "religious and/or political nature" written by evangelical Christian authors and containing references to "Proverbs, God, the Bible, and Christian educators."

NHA marketing Jeff Poole declined to comment on the suit.

According to the plaintiff's brief, Vanguard school goals listed for the 1997-98 school year included a "partnership with the Adam's Street School, a Christian school, and the Lighthouse Church." ---a Freedom of Information (FOIA) Request revealed that the Lighthouse Baptist Church was allowed to use the school facility at no charge (on Wednesdays and Sundays), even though other groups are charged a rental fee to use the school facilities after school hours.

According to Jeff Seaver's affidavit, he had a conversation with Vanguard principal Al Couch "where he advised me that J.C. Huizenga , who I understand and believe is chairman of the board and controlling owner of Defendant National Heritage Academies, made the decision to let Lighthouse Baptist Church use the facility at no cost."

Seaver also said in his affidavit that NHA stated that outside groups "must obtain a written permit to use the facility."

In an affidavit from Vanguard parent Michelle Nelson, Nelson said her daughter's teacher stated on two separate occasions that "the subject of dinosaurs" would not be taught "because some parents object to the subject of dinosaurs being taught because it was against their religious beliefs."

Jeff Seaver said the policy recently adopted by the Vanguard School Board does little to address his concerns. The policy, he said, still allows for the Mom's Prayer Group to meet at the school during school hours. Seaver also said the school has "reversed a lot of positive changes" implemented when the two parties went before McKeague last month to argue a preliminary injunction ordering the school to stop promoting a particular religion. That preliminary injunction was not granted.

"We feel like our position is very reasonable, but we are being painted as radicals," said Jeff Seaver.

"We're not suing for punitive damages and we're in favor of the moral focus agenda," said Cathy Seaver. The Seavers said that the morals such as respect, integrity, and honesty are "universal" and not the exclusive domain of any one religion.

Since the suit began NHA officials estimate they have spent $50,000 in legal costs.

In regards to plaintiff's legal costs, Seaver said "we don't have concerns about financing this suit."