A school district in California apparently would rather censor the Scriptures than raise funds.

A stipulated dismissal has been filed in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., after the district canceled an entire fundraising program in which supporters donated funds to be allowed to post a message on a brick paver, rather than let a few Scripture references survive.

According to the Alliance Defense Fund, which worked on the case, the Desert Sands Unified School District said that the fundraising was being dropped and all the funds contributed to date were being refunded

"Rather than allow the verses on a few pavers along walkways at Palm Desert High School, the Desert Sands Unified School District censored everyone participating in the program and refunded their money," ADF announced.

The organization had brought a claim against the district after the program sold memorial brick pavers advertised as carrying messages of the purchaser's choice to two Christian women who wanted Bible verses.

After the women paid for the pavers, they were told their messages would not be included alongside other similarly inscribed inspirational, commemorative and tributary messages on the campus.

The reason given was that they were Bible verses. District officials told WND earlier that the restriction was allowable because the fundraiser was being done by an outside parent organization.

"Christians should be allowed to express themselves on public school campuses just like everyone else," said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. "It is cowardly to shut down everyone's participation in this program simply out of animosity toward Christian speech. There is absolutely nothing unconstitutional about a Bible verse on a brick when a school opens up a program for anyone to express a personal message. The school could simply have allowed the Bible verses, but instead, it chose to punish everyone."

The program when it was announced in February 2010 by the PDHS Parent-Teacher Organization had been approved by the school and district, and no limitations were imposed on the content of the pavers – other than length.

Lou Ann Hart and Sheryl Caronna submitted requests and contributed several hundred dollars to purchase brick pavers with Scripture verses engraved, ADF said. In August, after the bricks were made, but before they were installed on the new campus' walkway, the women were notified that their pavers would not be installed.

The pavers were sold for $100 for a small one and $250 for a large, and purchasers were allowed to include such messages as:

• Be the change that you want to see in the world. Gandhi

   

• God bless you babe

   

• Dream big

   

• Make it happen

   

• "Showtime"

   

• Carpe Diem

   

• Believe

Hart bought five small pavers and had inscribed Bible verses including:

• Tell everyone about God's power, Psalm 68:34

   

• No one can serve two masters, Luke 17:13

   

• If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

   

• … the old life is gone. A new one has begun, 2CO. 5:17

   

• … be kind to each other ... forgive one another. Eph. 5:32

The school initially told the women that not only were their pavers not being included, but they would not get their money back.

District officials cited "separation of church and state" as a reason, presuming "erroneously," asserted ADF, that the Bible verses would establish an unconstitutional establishment of religion.

It was a memo from Karen Rohrbaugh of the parent teacher organization that raised concerns about the "religious verbiage."

The principal, Patrick Walsh, agreed.

"We need to respectfully decline the donation of bricks quoting scripture from the bible," he wrote. "I'm sure most parents will understand the constitutional protections regarding the separation of church and state."

In the dismissal notice filed in the case with the court, ADF noted, "The defendants have agreed that if they decide to reopen the brick paver fundraiser within the next two years at any district school, they will provide plaintiffs' counsel with a copy of the guidelines that will be used by the defendants to approve inscribed brick pavers for inclusion in the forum."

The school did not respond to a WND request for comment.