Supreme Court Won’t Hear Case Of Mega-Church That Hosted High School Graduations

The U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear the case of a suburban Milwaukee school district that held graduation ceremonies in a mega-church.

For about nine years, the Elmbrook School District held its high school graduation ceremonies at Elmbrook Church. The district says students from Brookfield Central and East high schools liked the larger space, handicapped accessible seating, and air conditioning. But in 2009, some parents, students and alumni sued to stop the practice, noting the large Christian cross on the wall of the church, and Bibles and other religious materials in the pews and lobby.

In 2012, a federal appeals court in Chicago ruled that the graduation ceremonies in the church were unconstitutional. Now, the Supreme Court has declined to hear the case.

Alex Luchenitser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State represented the nine people who originally sued.

“No one should be forced to choose between missing their own graduation – a seminal event – and entering (an) environment where a religion to which the student or parent does not subscribe is essentially being forced upon the student or parent,” said Luchenitser.

Luchenitser acknowledged that Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia wanted to take the case, and wrote a dissent. He said that leaves seven other justices who were comfortable letting the appellate ruling stand.

The Elmbrook School District says the school board only wanted to pursue the case to get clarity from the court as to whether public entities may use religious facilities for future events. About five years ago, Elm Grove and Brookfield taxpayers paid for a new field house at Brookfield East High School, and graduations have been held there since.

Editor’s Note: The Elmbrook School District declined to make anyone available for an interview.

Correction: The audio originally posted with this article corresponded to a different news story. The correct audio has now been posted.