Jefferson County appeals court ruling
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An attorney for the Jefferson County school system has filed an appeal of a federal judge's ruling on outsourcing its alternative school instruction to a Christian organization.
Lawyer Jonathan Taylor told the Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1dXbRmG ) he doesn't believe the evidence presented in the case shows a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Phillips in Knoxville said holding the classes at Kingswood School in Bean Station produced the appearance of governmental endorsement of the Christian faith.
"Kingswood (and) the board took a hands-off approach toward the impermissible intermingling of church with state.," Phillips wrote. "(But) the presence of biblical quotes and Christian themes scatted around campus and on written correspondence suggests actual or perceived endorsement of the Christian faith.
The judge wrote that students of other religions and those who are nonbelievers would likely feel divorced from Kingswood, which he described as a "well-intentioned, but overtly-Christian school."
The cash-strapped county school system turned to Kingswood in 2003 to save money.
Jefferson County paid Kingswood nearly $280,000 a year to teach its alternative school students. Doug Moody, who was the county school superintendent when the decision was made, said it cost the county more than $350,000 to run its own alternative school.
Two other counties later followed suit.
Moody was replaced by the school board four years later and went to work as the interim administrator of Kingswood.
"I didn't seek the position but I was approached," he said. "I'm now going into my third year. It's pure coincidence."
Phillips has already fined the Jefferson County school system more than $79,000 in damages to two teachers whose jobs were endangered by outsourcing alternative school instruction sued and is considering awarding attorney fees, too.
At the end of the 2011-2012, the Kingswood board decided to end all contracts with public schools, Moody said. The last contract to expire was one with the Grainger County schools, which ended at the start of the 2012-13 school year.
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Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com
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