ACLU Sues Water Authority Over Grant To Ohio Catholic School

The ACLU of West Virginia has taken the state’s Water Development Authority to court over a grant it issued to a Catholic school in Ohio.

In its complaint, filed Monday in Kanawha Circuit Court, the ACLU says the West Virginia Water Development Authority violated the state constitution when it issued a $5 million grant to The College of St. Joseph The Worker in Steubenville, Ohio.

The ACLU says taxpayers should not have to support the college’s religious mission.

Among other things, the constitution says “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever.”

The Water Development Authority is a revenue bond bank that finances local water and wastewater infrastructure projects statewide.

It’s unclear how the grant to the Ohio Catholic college serves that purpose. The grant was first reported by the Gazette-Mail newspaper.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of the American Humanist Association. The complaint names the Water Development Authority and its president, Marie Preszioso, as defendants.