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School District Removes Jesus Portrait

The Jackson City School district has taken down a portrait of Jesus because of concerns about the costs of defending the district against a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation.The superintendent says the district's insurance company declined to cover litigation expenses. The suit filed on behalf of a student and two parents claimed the portrait on display first at a middle school then a high school violates the constitutional separation of church and state. An ACLU spokesperson says the lawsuit remains in effect, but will be dropped if the portrait stays down.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.