Damien grant unconstitutional, says Hawaii AG

Hawaii’s state deputy attorney general determined that a $1.5 million grant intended for Damien Memorial School is unconstitutional.

Sorry, Charlie! No state money for you!
Sorry, Charlie! No state money for you!

According to the Honolulu Civil Beat:

Deputy Attorney General Randall Nishiyama’s memo, dated Sept. 3, 2013, notifies Mercado Kim that the grant for Kalihi’s Damien Memorial School violates a provision in Hawaii’s constitution prohibiting the state from contributing public money to private schools.

A spokeswoman for the AG’s office told Civil Beat that means the state won’t end up releasing the grant money, which would’ve subsidized a $12 million construction project that includes a new athletic complex, library and student services building, among other renovations.

Although there was no mention of the fact that Damien officials were less than truthful in the grant application, the fact that the grant was rescinded is a HUGE win for Damien’s victims of sexual abuse.

 

Comments

One response to “Damien grant unconstitutional, says Hawaii AG”

  1. Shawna Okami

    I don’t understand why our legislators are still trying to fuse Religious groups with State and federal Politics.. what is so hard to understand Seperation of Church and State? this issue isgetting way out of hand. next we’ll have the tailban in Hawaii using pass issues against us to impose their religious Laws on the masses too.

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