ACLU monitoring Petoskey school situation

The ACLU of Michigan said they are monitoring the situation in Petoskey, where the Freedom From Religion Foundation has written a letter of protest and is considering possible legal action in response to a school board member demanding that the winter vacation be called Christmas vacation on the school calendar. The Petoskey News-Review reports:

Rana Elmir, communications director for the ACLU of Michigan, said her organization received a complaint from a “concerned individual in the community” — who sought anonymity — about the matter.

“The complaint was mostly bringing our attention to the issue,” she said. “They voiced their concern about this as well as the e-mail.”

Describing the e-mail as “quite divisive,” Elmir said the civil-liberties advocacy group plans to observe the district to see if the message’s content reflects an individual board member’s views or is indicative of any larger school policies.

“It’s important that public schools are safe and welcoming environments for students and their families regardless of their faiths,” she said. “At the end of the day, our concern is that school administrators are not promoting one religion over another or religion over non-religion.”

Though both organizations often file lawsuits against schools and government agencies for violating the separation of church and state required by the First Amendment’s religion clauses, the ACLU tends to be more credible than the FFRF. The latter group has a tendency to launch legal crusades that they have little chance of winning, while the ACLU is more careful in which cases they choose to file.

The ACLU also has deeper pockets and a larger organization, as well as a much deeper pool of attorneys to work with. If they should decide to file a case against Petoskey Public Schools, that would likely be seen as more serious than a case brought by the FFRF.