Group complains about school district belief in God in mission statement

UNIONTOWN, Ohio (AP) — An atheist group is complaining about an Ohio school district’s mission statement listing “belief in God” among its values.

Co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation calls the statement on a recent Lake Local Schools newsletter shocking and a serious violation of the separation of church and state.

The Madison, Wis.-based foundation, which represents atheists and agnostics, has written to officials in the northeast Ohio district asking that they immediately remove “belief in God” from school publications and Web sites.

Superintendent Jeff Wendorf says officials and district lawyers are looking into the matter. He says the phrase has been included in the mission statement for years.