The College Fix

‘We oppose this public funding being used to support a religious ministry,’ ACLU says

The ACLU is currently suing the West Virginia Water Development Authority over a $5 million grant it made to a Catholic trades college, alleging the funding violates the state constitution.

The West Virginia ACLU affiliate, along with the American Humanist Association, argues in its lawsuit that the Economic Enhancement Grant “requires taxpayers to fund the work of this Catholic Institution,” referring to the College of St. Joseph the Worker.

“The College of St. Joseph the Worker describes its work, including its vocational work, as deeply and fundamentally Catholic, inseparable from the religious aspects of the College,” the lawsuit argues.

The unique college operates out of nearby Steubenville, Ohio, which sits just a few miles from the West Virginia border. It teaches students not just about a specific trade, such as plumbing, but also offers them the ability to graduate with a degree in Catholic Studies.

ACLU Communications Director Billy Wolfe told The College Fix via email there are no further updates on the case as of March 14.

“By the college’s own admission, the skilled worker development is still part of the school’s religious education,” Wolfe told The Fix via email. “We oppose this public funding being used to support a religious ministry.”

The Fix had asked if it mattered that the money only went to a skilled worker development program. The water authority’s “mission is to provide communities in West Virginia financial assistance for development of wastewater, water and economic infrastructure that will protect the streams of the State, improve drinking water quality, protect public health and encourage economic growth,” according to its website.

The money would go to building a branch of the college in the state and “a mission-driven, non-profit construction and real estate development company in West Virginia,” according to the lawsuit.

The Weirton Daily Times reported the grant would also go to building “education facilities” for “the five major construction trades of HVAC, carpentry, masonry, electrical and plumbing (including areas for tools and equipment storage), materials for training,” according to the language of the agreement.

The lawsuit also criticizes a $1 million request for “advocacy projects.” But Wolfe said “there are no claims concerning advocacy projects in our lawsuit.”

The water authority stated no money can be used for a proposed conservative think tank.

The college did not provide comment when asked, nor did the water development authority.

However, a Catholic leader said the grant should withstand legal scrutiny.

“Case law makes it clear that religious institutions may receive public funds when the purpose is not to advance religion, but to provide for services that are entirely secular,” Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told The Fix via an emailed statement.

“In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that students who attended religious schools (in this instance they were Catholic schools) could receive public transportation without violating the Constitution,” Donohue stated. “The high court ruled that the law had a ‘public purpose,’ which was the safety of the students.”

“The West Virginia Water Authority is not funding religious instruction at the College of St. Joseph the Worker—it is funding secular services which have a public purpose,” Donohue stated. “It has every right to do so.”

The ACLU cited state rulings to argue the West Virginia state constitution should be read to be more protective of rights than the federal constitution – in this case, it argues that non-religious individuals have greater protection from being required to fund religious groups.

However, in 2017 the Supreme Court overruled Missouri’s decision to deny a Lutheran preschool recycled scrap tire through a state program. The Supreme Court ruled the state violated the federal Free Exercise clause when it denied “an otherwise available public benefit on account of its religious status.”

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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A skilled tradesman works at a machine; Charnsitr/Shutterstock

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