Policy targets terror groups

The school district plans to ban any organization identified as a terrorist group from renting its facilities.

By: Joseph Harvie
   Terrorists need not apply to rent school district facilities under a new policy being considered by the Board of Education.
   Any organization identified by the U.S. Departments of State or Homeland Security as a terrorist group would be banned from renting space under a proposed addition to board’s Use of School Facilities policy.
   School Superintendent Gary McCartney said the district would work on a policy after the school budget process is completed. The budget goes to the voters on April 17.
   Board attorney David Carroll said that if the district wanted to alter its rental policy, it could either make the facilities only available to school organizations, such as the PTO and booster clubs, or keep it open and available to all organizations with exemptions only for known terrorist organizations.
   He said the board cannot make organization by organization determinations as to who can and can’t rent out its facilities because it would violate an organization’s First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, and because it would be deemed as discriminatory.
   Board member police Capt. Harry Delgado said the board likes having its facilities available to others because the schools are part of the community and should be open to all community organizations in the township. In addition, board members said rental fees are a valuable source of revenue.
   The policy discussion comes two months after the South Asian Community Association rented the building and invited a speaker who had a loose affiliation to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
   The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been fighting a civil war with the Sri Lankan government since 1983. According to the State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2005, issued in April 2006, the organization conducted "targeted assassinations," car-bombings and other terrorist activities in 2005. The group finances itself by contributions from Tamil members around the world, including North America, Europe and Australia, the report says.
   Members of the school board on Monday did not identify the South Asian Community Association, but said that the discussion stemmed from complaints the district received that a school facility had been rented to what some residents called a "terrorist organization."
   Mr. Carroll said the district’s policy is a "rather open" one, allowing any organization to rent district facility space. However, just because the district rents out its space doesn’t mean it endorses the organization or the organization’s beliefs.