Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc.
David A. Cortman, Counsel of Record
Trinity Lutheran Church has operated The Learning Center, a preschool education and daycare center, in Columbia, Missouri. since 1985. In 2012, it applied for a State grant to pay for resurfacing the center’s playground with rubber made from recycled tires. Although the center’s application was rated highly by the State Department of Natural Resources, its application was denied because officials believed using government funds for a project at a church-operated facility would violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. Trinity filed suit against the State on January 24, 2013, in Federal district court, challenging the decision. After the…
