Training Sessions Target Religious Right at the Grassroots

By Ann Bradley

Columbus, Ohio

On a gray and rainy Saturday, more than 60 people are gathered in the drab, windowless basement of the Ohio Education Association's building here. It's a heavy turnout, considering that the crowd in this sports-loving state could be at home watching football.

Instead, the group has given up a weekend day to learn how to fight attempts by religious conservatives to take control of local school boards. The packed room is a testament to the concern many public school supporters feel over the religious right's influence in central Ohio. All of the state's 735 school districts have school...