An attempt by Grove City leaders to keep the best and brightest at home could mean a showdown over the separation of church and state. The Grove City Council received a letter a week ago from the Freedom From Religion Foundation contending that the city is violating the U.S. and Ohio constitutions by providing public money for scholarships for use at a Christian college.

An attempt by Grove City leaders to keep the best and brightest at home could mean a showdown over the separation of church and state.

The Grove City Council received a letter a week ago from the Freedom From Religion Foundation contending that the city is violating the U.S. and Ohio constitutions by providing public money for scholarships for use at a Christian college.

�Supporting a form of worship, and showing preference for Christianity above other religions, is exactly what Grove City does by giving taxpayer-funded scholarships to students to attend� Ohio Christian University at the Grove City Church of the Nazarene, the Wisconsin-based foundation wrote.

The scholarships are intended to help educate residents and make them more employable regardless of what accredited college they attend, Councilman Ted Berry countered.

�The city doesn�t (distinguish) religious vs. nonreligious,� Berry said.

Berry helped create the Grove City Higher Education Investment Program last year. The scholarships can be used only at Ohio Christian, Harrison College and Columbus State Community College, which has a branch in Grove City.

The foundation�s letter said Ohio Christian�s Grove City branch �not only trains students to become ministers, but also mixes the promotion of Christianity with its secular studies.�

The city, though, contends that its scholarship program is legal because it awards the money to students who pick which Grove City college to attend.

�I can�t discriminate, and I will not, on where a student chooses to go to school,� Berry said.

That�s what Berry is doing, a foundation attorney said, by making the scholarships available at just three colleges, one of which is Christian.

�Grove City taxpayers shouldn�t be compelled to fund religious educations,� said the attorney, Patrick Elliott. �I don�t know how anybody who is not Christian would attend that college. If they were to (go to) any college in the U.S., that would be a different story.�

To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must be Grove City residents, attend one of the three participating schools, maintain a C average and either do 10 hours of community service per semester or remain a Grove City resident for three years after their last scholarship is awarded.

Full-time students can receive $1,000 per semester, with a maximum of $12,000. Part-time students can get as much as $500 per semester.

�We�re just now accepting applications for the first time ever,� Council President Roby Schottke said. Nineteen people applied this year.

No money has been appropriated yet to fund the scholarships, Schottke said. The money will come from the city�s general fund.

�Our whole goal is to expand the middle class in Grove City,� Berry said. �We want to retrain and retool our citizens ... to attract business.�

kperry@dispatch.com

@kimballperry