School district can't charge Christian club to use campus facilities
By The Associated Press
07.14.02
LOS ANGELES — A federal court has ordered the Los Angeles Unified School District to at least temporarily allow a children's Christian group to use campus facilities for after-school meetings free of charge.
The school district had prohibited the Good News Club from regularly meeting at Chase Street Elementary School in Panorama City without paying the fees required of many other organizations.
But it appears that such fees discriminate against religious groups and violate the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow ruled last week.
Morrow issued a preliminary injunction against the school district and said she would schedule a hearing to discuss whether the injunction should be made permanent.
The district allows student-run clubs and organizations to meet on campus after school without paying fees. It requires other groups, such as churches and community or corporate organizations, to pay fees to cover the costs of school maintenance during the meetings, officials said.
But it is unfair to exempt just some organizations, said leaders of the Good News Club.
"I knew it was prejudicial. I knew it was discrimination," said Nancy Thomason, whose Child Evangelism Fellowship in the San Fernando Valley sponsors the Good News Club.
She said she paid an initial fee of $60 but still did not receive approval from the district to conduct the meetings at Chase Elementary.
Adrianne Konigar, a school district attorney who is handling the case, said the district has no problem allowing the Good News Club to meet on campus if it pays.
"The issue here is not whether they can form that club," she said. "It is over the fee."