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The Harrison County school board says it won't fight a federal lawsuit over that picture of Jesus at Bridgeport High School, for now.
Story by Sarah Kapis
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The board has authorized its legal counsel to take steps to have the case dismissed.
All that is left is an empty space in the hallway of Bridgeport High School. It's where the portrait of Jesus Christ once hung, but was stolen just weeks ago.
"It's an odd twist in the case, never seen anything like this before. It is what it is," says Gary McCaleb, an attorney with the board's legal defense group, Alliance Defense Fund.
After nearly two hours of discussion in executive session, the Harrison County School Board came to a unanimous decision Thursday morning. It voted to pass a resolution that would take steps to have the lawsuit involving the Jesus portrait dismissed. Members say the portrait is gone and the lawsuit should follow.
"In light of current controversy surrounding the painting, we need to evaluate what would be best for the community as a whole," says board member Mike Queen.
In reaction to the board's decision, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State said in a statement, "I'm delighted by this decision. I think the school board has seen the light and has chose not to replace the portrait but simply not to fight our lawsuit."
The ACLU, another civil liberties group involved in the lawsuit, said it's also happy with the outcome.
"They did the correct thing by not replacing this unconstitutional display," spokesman Andrew Schneider said. He goes on to say the ACLU is willing to dismiss a portion of the lawsuit under certain conditions.
"That the board agrees not to put up any other display that unconstitutionally endorses religion," Schneider says.
The board's legal counsel says the next step would be to file a motion to dismiss the case.
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