An ongoing battle in Idaho over Nampa Classical Academy's plans to use the Bible as textbook is drawing stern words on both sides: the state, which is requesting information and materials on the school's plans, and school officials, who have sued the state and are refusing to comply with requests.
Deputy Attorney General Mike Gilmore told school officials in an e-mail sent Friday that the commission and its program manager, Tamara Baysinger, will continue to seek the information from the school.
"Filing suit in federal court is not a 'Get Out [of] Jail Free' card that exempts NCA from oversight for expenditure of tax dollars and from conducting its educational mission in accordance with state law," Gilmore wrote in the e-mail, which was obtained by The Idaho Press-Tribune .
Charter Commission chairman Bill Goesling also had strong words for school officials, saying that the usage of religious texts would likely lead to the revocation of the school's charter.
"If they want to use religious texts, they need to be a private school," he said. "Public funds are not available for that."
