Suit Takes Aim At Indiana Religious Charter Schools

Dave Stafford for www.theindianalawyer.com

A Monroe County nonprofit organization has sued the state and a charter school, seeking to block its funding because the group argues that taking tax dollars from public schools for the benefit of private religious institutions violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Indiana Coalition for Public Education of Monroe County and South Central Indiana Inc. on Tuesday sued state education officials and the Seven Oaks Classical School. The K-8 school in Ellettsville opened in 2016 under a charter issued to Grace College in Winona Lake. But while the suit targets Seven Oaks, it also argues more broadly that religious institutions should be restricted from chartering schools that receive public money.

ICPE includes Monroe County public schoolteachers and employees who will be harmed by the diversion of tax dollars to public schools, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.  The complaint “challenges the constitutionality of portions of the Indiana Charter Schools Act on their face and as applied to the authorization of a charter for Seven Oaks Classical School by Grace College and Seminary.”

The suit asserts funding for the charter school, part of which is received by Grace College, violates not just the Establishment Clause but also the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition in Article 1, Section 6 against drawing money from the treasury for the benefit of a religious institution. The suit seeks declaratory judgments that sections of the Charter School Act are unconstitutional; that the charter issued to Seven Oaks is invalid; and an injunction blocking state money from being distributed to the school.

Terry English, an attorney member of the board of directors of Seven Oaks, said Tuesday the school had not yet been served with a copy of the suit and would not immediately comment. But English said the school believes it’s on sound legal footing.

“Seven Oaks has followed Indiana law,” he said. “Grace College is an authorizer under Indiana law, and we believe we followed the law in its entirety.”

“Our chief concern is that Indiana law permits religious institutions like Grace College to decide whether to authorize charter schools,” Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, chair of ICPE–Monroe County, said in a statement announcing the suit. “Charter schools are taxpayer-supported and take money away from our school corporations, so only state and local officials answerable to the public should be able to authorize them.”

ICPE said Grace College and Seminary describes itself as an evangelical Christian institution that applies biblical values to its educational mission, emphasizes a biblical worldview, and teaches students to recognize scripture as the inerrant and inspired word of God.

The complaint also challenges a provision in state law that gives up to 3 percent of a charter school’s public funds to the authorizer — in this case, Grace College and Seminary. “That would seem to violate the Indiana Constitution, which says flatly that no money may be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any religious institution,” lead attorney Alex Tanford, professor emeritus at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, said in the statement.

The suit alleges three counts: that delegating the decision to authorize a charter school to a religious institution violates the Establishment Clause; that providing tax dollars to religious institutions for authorizing charter schools violates the Establishment Clause; and that giving public money to religious institutions violates the Indiana Constitution.

Along with Seven Oaks, the suit names Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick, who chairs the State Board of Education, as well as James Bentley, executive director of the Indiana Charter School Board. The case is before Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.

City of Evansville, Vectren Partner For First Universal Solar Project Bringing Renewable Energy To Residents

City of Evansville, Vectren partner for first universal solar project bringing renewable energy to residents

Evansville, Ind. – Today the City of Evansville (City) announced a joint partnership with Vectren Energy Delivery (Vectren), to construct a two megawatt (MW) solar array on property owned by the City. The $5.5 million dollar project will be located near Oak Hill Cemetery on East Morgan Ave., just east of U.S. 41.

“This is a very exciting time for the City of Evansville and its residents who will benefit from universal solar energy for the first time in the city’s history,” said Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. “Partnering with Vectren is allowing both entities to respond positively to the public’s interest in local solar energy production, and we are thrilled to host the solar array within our city limits.”

Vectren will own and operate the solar project to be constructed on approximately 15 acres of land the energy company will lease from the City. Assuming the project receives necessary approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), the project should be operational in 2018.

“Embarking on this partnership is among Vectren’s first steps toward diversifying our electric generation portfolio,” said Carl Chapman, Vectren’s chairman, president and CEO. “We are grateful for the opportunity to join the City of Evansville in bringing universal solar energy to our customers.”

This solar farm will consist of approximately 8,000 ground-mounted fixed-tilt solar panels. The facility will be interconnected to Vectren’s electric distribution system, which powers about 144,000 residential electric customers in Southwest Indiana. This is one of two universal solar projects the utility currently has before the IURC for approval. Vectren South estimates that each 2 MW solar project will generate enough power to supply approximately 300 homes each year.

About Vectren
Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) is an energy holding company headquartered in Evansville, Ind.  Vectren’s energy delivery subsidiaries provide gas and/or electricity to more than 1 million customers in adjoining service territories that cover nearly two-thirds of Indiana and about 20 percent of Ohio, primarily in the west-central area. Vectren’s nonutility subsidiaries and affiliates currently offer energy-related products and services to customers throughout the U.S. These include infrastructure services and energy services. To learn more about Vectren, visit www.vectren.com<http://www.vectren.com>.