What's the law?

[booksenkatz]

Here in Canton, a church group has begun holding its meetings in the middle school up the street. I was surprised to see this. What's the law here in Michigan? I didn't know that church groups could meet in public school buildings. I'm tempted to make some phone calls -- not really to stir anything up, but I'd be curious to know if, say, Pagans or Wiccans would be similarly allowed that space plus all of the signage up and down the main road, etc.?
:shrug:

EDITED TO ADD: There were a ton of cars overflowing the parking lots, up and down the street... with that level of patronage, surely they can afford to rent their own building someplace instead of blocking the residential homes' driveways?

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. I know, at least in my area, several churches have held their Sunday

services in high school auditoriums and gymnasiums. I think they need a permit, and as long as they are not held during school hours, they are allowable.

[booksenkatz]

2. Interesting

But I bet the local folks would go nuts if some Pagans wanted to do the same thing, with accompanying directional signage. The whole thing feels unconstitutional to me. With a congregation of this size, I think they should be required to fund their own site.

Ah, well. I'll just avoid that street on Sundays.

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. Oh, you bet.

We had a situation like that here, at the Middle School, a few years ago. I can't remember the organization, but a large group of fundies were handing out bibles to the kids as they walked home. The school said that because it was after school hours and they were on the sidewalk there was nothing they,or the police could do. As my girlfriend said (who is also a DUer) it sure would have ended differently had someone been handing out "Satan's little Handbook".

[noonwitch]

4. My high school rented out space to a church on Sundays

It was a way to bring some extra money into the district. It was usually a new church that was in the process of building their facility, and needed temporary quarters.

I had an agnostic teacher for my AP english class my senior year. We'd sometimes come into the classroom on Monday mornings and find the Sunday school lesson still on the chalkboard. He'd always go off about it, but it never really was any kind of major issue for most people. We also rented our auditorium to the GR Symphony for their weekly rehearsals.

[booksenkatz]

5. To be totally honest

I don't have much of an issue with schools doing this to make extra money, just as long as this is available to ALL religions, no questions asked. That's the part that I'm a bit concerned about. I'm not going to ask any questions about that aspect, though, because I have a feeling I know what the answers would be. I know how non-Judeo-Christian religions are viewed in this allegedly pluralistic country, it ain't pretty.:(

(I'm agnostic, so the only dog I have in this fight is my tax dollars supporting a congregation that should have enough collective wealth to support its own building.)

[Mich Otter]

6. Call, and see if they will accept other groups at the school.

If not, the school board needs to be reported to the ACLU.
If they are fair, and allow other groups to use the building after school hours, I think it is fine that the school is able to make some money off of the church group.