Iowa governor raised private school funds

The Iowa governor has transgressed the Constitution by recently raising funds for a Christian school, charges FFRF.

On April 10, Gov. Kim Reynolds helped a faith-based school raise money by allowing it to auction off a dinner with her at the governor’s mansion. The winning bid was an astounding $30,100, reports an Iowa-based community news portal. Des Moines Christian School’s self-described mission is to nurture graduates who are “servant-hearted leaders” and “passionate apprentices of Christ,” and donors to the gala were told their contributions represent an investment in the school’s effort to “impact the world for Christ!”

FFRF says Reynolds misused her public position and publicly funded residence in order to raise funds for a Christian school. 

“Our Constitution’s Establishment Clause dictates that the government cannot in any way endorse religion,” FFRF Staff Attorney Chris Line wrote to the governor. “As the Supreme Court has put it, ‘the First Amendment mandates governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion.’”