Thou shall not give public money to a private, Christian school, SC lawmakers

Public money has to to go to public schools. What about that do South Carolina lawmakers not understand?

In the latest betrayal of this simple principle, lawmakers sent $1.5 million in a state budget earmark to Christian Learning Centers of Greenville, as reported by The State’s Zak Koeske.

Not only is money being given away with this earmark that could go to public schools, it also violates that little thing called separation of church and state. Maybe these lawmakers don’t know, but that’s kind of important to the United States.

The money came from an earmark in the state budget requested by state Reps. Mike Burns, R-Greenville, and John McCravy, R-Greenwood, and it made it past Republican Gov. Henry McMaster’s vetoes.

As reported by Koeske, Christian Learning Centers for 25 years has picked up kids when they’re not in school and taught them about the Bible.

That’s a fine mission. It’s watching over some students who might instead be hitting mailboxes with baseball bats — or doing worse things. Now, the centers want to build a school, and the $1.5 million in state money is to going to help with the startup costs. The school should have never been considered for the money.

Why is the state giving $1.5 million to an organization that seems less concerned with teaching geography than Sodom and Gomorrah? Private schools are not held to the same educational standards as public schools. The state doesn’t know what education these kids will get for that $1.5 million.

Christian Learning Centers says it plans to build the school to house 32 middle and high school students who are at risk. That’s far too few to justify getting $1.5 million. With an extra $1.5 million any school district in South Carolina could provide new opportunities to hundreds of kids.

Here’s an even crazier number. That $1.5 million could pay for about 28 new public school teachers. That’s almost a whole new public elementary school worth of teachers.

The state shouldn’t be giving Christian Learning Centers any money for another reason. Churches and the organizations behind them have tons of dough. If the leaders of the Christian Learning Centers have a worthy mission, their fellow brothers and sisters in organized religion have plenty to donate. Lawmakers should recognize that and not dole out funds.

State funds and what they support are more than dollar amounts. The funds are endorsements of values.

By giving money to a Christian school through a state budget law, South Carolina is endorsing Christian values, and that endorsement goes against the U.S. and state constitutions, which prohibit state sponsored religion.

Let’s be honest: These lawmakers aren’t sponsoring education with this $1.5 million. They’re sponsoring Christianity. With little state oversight of private schools, there’s no way to ensure the curriculum will teach these kids anything.

While Christianity is a generally good system — “Thou shall not kill” and the Golden Rule hold up — giving money to a Christian school is just a surreptitious way for lawmakers to push having an established religion.

I can only imagine how deeply indented McMaster’s veto signature for a Muslim school would have been.

The edges of the no-established-religion principle cannot be frayed away through funding a Christian school.

Aside from the values behind that $1.5 million, how it got allocated to Christian Learning Centers shows a need for reform in the state budgeting process.

Burns and McGravy might think they have skirted a provision of the state constitution that prohibits public money from going to religious and private schools by asking for the money through an earmark, which is essentially state funding for lawmakers’ pet projects. What they’ve really done is set up a losing court case for their cause.

Legal scholars and the courts have weighed in, saying that the South Carolina Constitution prohibits public funding for such schools.

What do these lawmakers need? For stone tablets to fall from the sky with the words “Thou shall not give public funds to private schools.”

David Travis Bland is the interim editorial editor. @dtravisbland