Kanawha judge says state’s water development money can’t be used on religious education

by Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
September 26, 2025

A Kanawha County judge said the West Virginia Water Development Authority’s original plans for a $5 million grant to an out-of-state religious school were unconstitutional. 

More than $1 million dollars of the water development funds had been designated for religious-specific education and enrollment of students at the College of St. Joseph the Worker, a college based in Steubenville, Ohio. 

“Said distributions are unconstitutional as they violate the establishment clause of the West Virginia and U.S. Constitutions,” Kanawha County Circuit Richard Lindsay wrote in the order Thursday. 

The grant will no longer be used for religious purposes, according to the Water Development Authority.

Lindsay granted a motion for summary judgment to the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia and the American Humanist Association, who filed suit in January against the Water Development Authority to stop it from issuing the grant to Catholic school.

The state’s Water Development Authority had approved giving $5 million to the Catholic-affiliated career and vocational college in 2024 to expand into West Virginia and to create a conservative think tank without a required recommendation from one of three state officials. The grant was first reported by the Charleston Gazette-Mail and the News and Sentinel. 

In the lawsuit, the organizations argued that in granting the money to the Ohio-based school, the Water Development Authority abdicated its duties of providing financial assistance to West Virginia communities to protect water quality and public health and encourage economic growth. The move also violated the guarantee of freedom of religion codified in the state constitution, they said.

In July, Lindsay sided with the ACLU and American Humanist Association, saying the Water Development Authority had violated the state constitution by giving the public money to the Catholic school.

The judge gave the Water Development Authority 30 days to show evidence of its compliance with the constitution, the ACLU said.  

The Water Development Authority has complied with his order, Lindsay said in a new order, prompting him to grant defendants’ request for summary judgment in the case.

According to the order, the Water Development Authority grant money in question will now be used for “real estate acquisition, site development, construction, infrastructure improvements, supplies and equipment for workforce training.” 

In his order, Lindsay wrote that, “… as long as a state-approved grant is used for non religious purposes and is a benefit available to the public, said grant is constitutional.” 

In a press release, American Humanist Association Executive Director Fish Stark said the group still questioned the decision to offer state subsidies to religious schools.

“We’re satisfied that the court found the original grant unconstitutional and maintained that  state funds cannot be spent on religious instruction or sectarian advocacy in the future, even if the funding restrictions could have cut deeper,” Stark said. “This was always an affront to West Virginian taxpayers, which is why we took action when our members saw this blatant violation of church state separation happening in their community.”

Students at the College of St. Joseph the Worker earn a Bachelor of Arts in Catholic Studies while also receiving training in several trades, including carpentry, HVAC and plumbing. According to Lindsay’s order, a letter from the college acknowledged that the grant money wouldn’t be spent on religious advocacy of any kind or teacher salaries.

“No question of constitutional law or infirmity remains,” Lindsay wrote in the order.

The state’s Water Development Authority was created in 1977 by the state Legislature to provide grants and loans to local governments and public services districts for construction of water and wastewater infrastructure. The board also uses the funds for economic development projects across the state. 

Following Lindsay’s order, ACLU-WV Advocacy Director Rusty Williams said in a news release, “Tens of thousands of West Virginians lack access to clean drinking water, and it is  unconscionable that their tax dollars were intended to go to an out-of-state entity for purposes  that would have violated our constitution.”

“We call on the state to prioritize the needs of West Virginians, not the wants of religious institutions, in future decision-making,” he said.

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