Public school meetings inside church creates controversy

April 9, 2015 Updated Apr 10, 2015 at 7:05 AM EDT

Vestal, NY (WBNG Binghamton) A subcommittee of the Vestal School Board has been conducting meetings inside the Vestal United Methodist Church for the past several months. The group met at the church again Thursday.

The Procedures Committee was formed last fall and members said they have had at least six meetings inside the church.

They said the reason for having the meetings at the church is because it is more handicapped accessible than the administrative building where regular board meetings are held.

"The building is quite difficult for handicapped people to get in there because the area where there is a ramp, currently that area is under construction," said Michon Stuart, the school board president.

Members of the board have mixed feelings on the church location.

The board voted six to three in favor of having meetings in the church instead of a school facility earlier this week. The decision has board members and administration split on whether the church is an appropriate meeting place.

I was one of the dissenting votes because I don't think this is appropriate for a public school to be meeting in a church affiliated building," Kim Myers, who is on the school board, said. But in Thursdays meeting, Myers was only an observer.

Myers is concerned people will be uncomfortable attending a public meeting in a church, and may not attend.

"If I went to a different church it wouldn't bother me at all. It will bother some people and some people it will not, David Hanson, the Procedures committee chairman, said. Hanson voted in favor of having the meetings at the church.

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Public school meetings inside church creates controversy