September 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 36

L AW R E V I E W

pea gravel with a pour-in-place rubber
surface by participating in the Missouri
Scrap Tire Program.
Due to limited resources, the department cannot offer grants to all applicants
and so awards them on a competitive
basis to those scoring highest based on
several criteria, such as the poverty level of the population in the surrounding
area and the applicant's plan to promote
recycling. When the center applied, the
department had a strict and express policy of denying grants to any applicant
owned or controlled by a church, sect
or other religious entity. That policy, in
the department's view, was compelled by
Article I, Section 7 of the Missouri Constitution, which provides:
That no money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly
or indirectly, in aid of any church,

In 2012, the [Trinity Lutheran Church Child Learning]
center sought to replace a large portion of the pea gravel
with a pour-in-place rubber surface by participating in the
Missouri Scrap Tire Program.
sect or denomination of religion,
or in aid of any priest, preacher,
minister or teacher thereof, as such;
and that no preference shall be given to nor any discrimination made
against any church, sect or creed of
religion, or any form of religious
faith or worship.
In its application, the center disclosed
its status as a ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church and specified that the center's
mission was " to provide a safe, clean and

attractive school facility in conjunction
with an educational program structured
to allow a child to grow spiritually, physically, socially and cognitively. "
After describing the playground and
the safety hazards posed by its current
surface, the center detailed the anticipated benefits of the proposed project:
increasing access to the playground for
all children, including those with disabilities, by providing a surface compliant
with the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990; providing a safe, long-lasting
and resilient surface under the play areas;
and improving Missouri's environment
by putting recycled tires to positive use.
The center also noted that the benefits of
a new surface would extend beyond its
students to the local community, whose
children often use the playground during
non-school hours.
The center ranked fifth among the 44
applicants in the 2012 Scrap Tire Program. The department ultimately awarded 14 grants as part of the 2012 program.
Despite its high score, the center was
deemed categorically ineligible to receive
a grant because it was operated by Trinity Lutheran Church. In a letter rejecting
the center's application, the program
director explained that, under Article I,
Section 7 of the Missouri Constitution,
the department could not provide financial assistance directly to a church.
Road to the Supreme Court
Trinity Lutheran sued the director of the
department in federal district court. The
church alleged that the department's fail-

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September 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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