Montgomery Schools in Danger of Losing $40 Million Because of Discrimination Against Scouts
Rockville, MD -- Public Advocate of the United States, a non-profit organization based in northern Virginia, is notifying authorities of Montgomery County, Maryland that they may be among the first in the Nation to lose their estimated $40 million in federal education funding, as a result of recent actions they have taken against the Boy Scouts of America, as legislated by the recently enacted "No Child Left Behind Act."
The loss of $40 million in revenue would be a result of a decision made by the county last year to begin charging the Boy Scouts for meeting space on school property, a service that the youth organization has received for decades free of charge. Research indicates that the action taken by the county was prompted by the Scouts' moral criteria for leaders and members. Sanctions based on such motives are now illegal as a result of the "Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act" which was signed into law by President Bush as part of the Education Bill earlier this month. Public Advocate is giving the county until February 14th to rectify the situation before the organization will report its findings to the U.S. Office for Civil Rights per section 9525 of the new law. If the office finds that the county is in violation of the statute, the Secretary of Education must withhold all federal education funding.
"It is time that Montgomery County officials put the interest of their children above the special interest of the extreme homosexual lobby," stated Public Advocate Executive Director Eugene Delgaudio. "We ask that the county give the Boy Scouts of America a Valentine's Day present by rescinding these burdens that they have imposed against them."
Public Advocate represents over 40,000 members nationwide, including over 300 in Montgomery County. A copy of the letter to county administrators is available upon request.