GREENFIELD, MA – After Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter, the Greenfield Public Schools (GPS) held a special virtual session last night and voted to approve the Providence Moldovian Baptist Church and its school, Providence Christian Academy. The vote was 4-1 with two abstentions. Now the elementary school will begin classes for Fall 2023.
The Greenfield School Committee should have approved the church school’s application during its regularly scheduled meeting on July 12, 2023. However, School Committee Member Elizabeth Ann de Neeve used her position to make outrageous and false remarks about Providence Christian Academy and the Abeka curriculum. After de Neeve expressed her anti-religious views, the committee failed to approve the church school’s application on the basis of its religious beliefs and its choice of a well-established Abeka curriculum. De Neeve continued using her position to voice her public opposition to the Christian school with a July 25 post on her Facebook page, stating:
"I am calling for action because this private school is using a controversial creationist curriculum called Abeka, which is associated with nationally-funded right-wing Christian groups and teaches students a very different view of the world from what's taught in the rest of Greenfield's public and private schools.”
De Neeve encouraged her handful of Facebook followers to write the school committee, education secretary, and tell friends and neighbors to oppose the approval of this Christian school.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Greenfield School Committee needs to control the rhetoric and personal advocacy of some of its members. Personal advocacy coupled with unhinged false statements denigrating a Christian school will not play well in a court of law. While we are pleased that Providence Christian Academy will begin accepting students this fall, we remain astounded concerning the statements made by some committee members. The First Amendment stands as a reminder that those who serve in government must govern themselves in accordance with the Constitution.”
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
