Massachusetts school officials under fire for working to ban religious groups from renting facilities

A Massachusetts town is facing backlash and a imaginable suit for a schoolhouse committee connection trying to prohibition spiritual organizations and churches from renting nationalist schoolhouse space.

A missive from the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center, addressed to the members of the Salem School Committee, says that the committee is discriminating against House of Promise Church and different spiritual groups implicit a proposal, Policy 3204, that would prohibition spiritual institutions from renting oregon leasing abstraction successful Salem Public Schools. 

The proposal, included successful the Salem School Committee’s May 19, 2025, meeting minutes, reads, "Leases and rentals not being granted to spiritual organizations was added to the argumentation to code concerns that determination whitethorn beryllium spiritual organizations with values that bash not align to the district’s values."

"I constitute connected behalf of my client, House of Promise Church, to request that you instantly cease immoderate effort to discriminate against it oregon immoderate different spiritual enactment based connected their spiritual beliefs and viewpoints," Sam Whiting, counsel of the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center (MLLC), wrote successful a June 9 letter. 

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The Salem School Committee is facing backlash and a imaginable suit for a connection trying to prohibition spiritual organizations and churches from renting nationalist schoolhouse space. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

"It is our knowing that you are successful the process of approving a argumentation that would prohibition spiritual organizations, and lone spiritual organizations, from renting oregon leasing abstraction successful Salem Public Schools," the missive reads. "This would represent a clear First Amendment violation. Should you walk and instrumentality this policy, we volition instrumentality contiguous ineligible enactment to sphere my client’s rights."

The MLLC missive contends that the House of Promise Church, which has reserved abstraction successful Collins Middle School auditorium for Sunday services, is being singled out.

"House of Promise Church is simply a non-denominational Christian religion that has reserved abstraction successful the auditorium of Collins Middle School for Sunday worship services for a fig of years," the missive reads.

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It adds that the religion has "used the online nationalist preservation portal to bash so. During that time, it has ne'er received immoderate complaints oregon antagonistic feedback astir its usage of the property. Many different organizations besides rent abstraction from Salem Public Schools for their meetings and activities, specified arsenic the Boys and Girls Club, a daycare, and assorted afterschool programs." 

The members of the Salem School Committee reportedly voted to beforehand the argumentation connected June 2 and are expected to walk the argumentation successful a ballot Tuesday. 

The Salem Witch Museum successful Salem, MA. The Salem School Committee's connection was likened to "anti-Christian witch hunts."  (Boston Globe / Contributor via Getty Images)

"In a speech with Pastor Hyatt aft the June 2nd gathering adjourned, Superintendent Zrike expressed that it was his knowing that if the argumentation passes, House of Promise Church volition beryllium instantly barred from renting abstraction astatine Salem Public Schools and immoderate existent reservations volition beryllium cancelled," the missive reads. 

In a connection to Fox News Digital, Whiting said that the connection is successful nonstop usurpation of the First Amendment, with a motion to Salem's infamous witch trials successful the 1600s.

"We are astounded by Salem's blatant usurpation of the First Amendment, which violates decades of wide ineligible precedent," Whiting said. "Apparently, idiosyncratic needed to pass Salem that our Constitution doesn’t let for anti-Christian witch hunts. We spot that our missive volition bash the instrumentality and that the Salem School Committee volition ballot to cull this discriminatory policy." 

The Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center says that the House of Promise Church, which reserves abstraction successful Collins Middle School auditorium for Sunday services, is being singled out. (iStock)

House of Promise Church pastor Richard Hyatt told Fox News Digital that helium is "deeply troubled" by the caller argumentation to exclude spiritual organizations.

"To beryllium clear, the lone spiritual organizations presently utilizing these buildings are churches—and nary 1 else. Meanwhile, much than 100 secular institutions proceed to person entree with nary menace of exclusion. This selective attraction tells maine that we are not being judged connected our behaviour oregon impact, but solely connected our spiritual individuality and beliefs," Hyatt said.

He added that if the connection advances, the religion volition "not hesitate to prosecute each ineligible avenues to support our rights nether the First Amendment and Massachusetts law."

Fox News Digital reached retired to the Salem School Committee and Superintendent Stephen Zrike for comment, but did not instantly person a response. 

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