In Clarksburg, West Virginia, Americans United For Separation of Church and State (press release) and the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia have sued to force Harrison County education officials to remove a large a portrait of Jesus hanging in Bridgeport High School. The The painting has hung in the school for at least 30 years. Originally it was in a counselor's office, but was moved to the wall outside the principal's office when the counselor left the school. After a request that the painting be removed, the school board earlier this month by a tie vote decided to keep it. Expecting a lawsuit, Board President Sally Cann voted in favor of removing the painting, saying that the school did not have to keep it to profess its Christian values. The suit, filed on behalf of a parent of a former student as well as on behalf of a former teacher in the school, alleges "the school district has sent a powerful visual message to all who enter the school that Christian students are more valued than others and that students who wish to curry favor with the administration should adhere to the school district's preferred religious views..." Reports on the case are in today's Charleston (WV) Gazette and the Washington Post.
