A state-funded Christian preschool in Florida will close in May over fears that government regulations could force staff to make bathroom accommodation available to transgender children and compromise its religious teachings.
Gateway Christian Preschool, an outreach ministry of the Gateway Church of Christ in Pensacola, will shut down having served its community for more than 40 years.
The preschool’s director, Barbara Deem, told The Christian Post that the choice was made by her church’s elders after they concluded that the preschool, plus its public subsidy, could become a “liability” to the church.
Gateway Christian Preschool has been an active participant in Florida’s pre-kindergarten subsidy program since it started it 2005. The program offers four-year-olds state funding to offset the costs of classes that prepare them for kindergarten.
Deem said that the funding from the government pays for about 60 per cent of the preschool’s enrollment, noting that the state provides about $2,300 for every four-year-old annually. Families of the other 40 per cent of the preschool’s children, aged between one and three, pay fees.
“There has always been some concern among a lot of people with taking any kind of government dollars as to whether or not the people could have a say in what you teach, your curriculum, whether or not it is a separation of church and state issue,” the preschool director told the site.
“We have built in a protection in our contract with the local coalition office that provides our services for the VPK so that we have time throughout the day that the state is not paying for in order to alleviate any possibility of being challenged on teaching Christian values on the government dollar.”
Deem continued to explain that the church elders “became increasingly concerned” about the prospect of government forcing the preschool to change its curriculum or even make alterations that are in conflict with the teachings of the church. According to her, the elders had also been “investigating other churches in other states that have been threatened with political changes.”
“Basically, they were asking whether or not there is separation of church and state, can your status as an independent entity be challenged because you may not want to go with what is politically correct?” Deem continued. “They cite things such as installing transgender bathrooms or teaching values that are opposed to what the church actually stands for and the values that each independent church holds high.”
The preschool director notes, however, that the establishment hasn’t been criticized or threatened with political action yet, pointing out that many families who are not members of the church send their children to the preschool.
“So, the leadership here was just investigating those things and they became concerned over the possibility of actions being taken because the school is here and maybe a possible liability because we have so many families that come in,” Deem said.
“We have not had any threats. We have not had anyone come and challenge these issues. I have had this position for nine years and I have never had anyone come and question us about our teachings. If anything, it is quite the opposite. They are happy that their children are getting some Christian education at an early age.”
“This was a decision of the leadership in effort to protect the congregation as a whole against any potential threat,” she added.
