The space renters, knowing they had a great deal, could also be gen-
erous. Manhattan High School’s gym was rented to an organization
that sponsored basketball and volleyball leagues among yuppie office
workers. They often purchased athletic equipment (volleyballs, nets, bas-
ketballs) for their leagues, which, of course, the school could use. This
included an electronic score board for the gym. In addition, they funded
some graduation awards in physical education.
Finally, renters had to pay for security while they were in the build-
ing. The district paid for security personnel to be in the school building
from about seven in the morning until five in the afternoon. After five,
the school would have to pay for overtime security out of its own budget.
As several school activities, including club meetings, tutorials, and ath-
letic practices and competitions, took place after five, this could add up
to a significant piece of the budget. However, as there were space rentals
Monday through Thursday, the outside renters were paying for all security
costs from five to nine. The only day the school had to pay security costs
was on Fridays or weekends if there were any meetings or special events
scheduled.
Principal Valletta delegated rental approvals to an assistant principal,
Ms. Mauve. It was her job to ensure that such rentals did not interfere
with school activities and that the rentals were allowed under district
regulations. At that time, one taboo was the rental of space for religious
purposes. There was some hairsplitting in this regulation. You could rent
space to a religious organization for a meeting, provided it was an open
forum from which no one was excluded; however, you could not rent
to the same organization if it was going to use the space for any type of
religious ceremony or rite.
When Ms. Valletta came to sign off on the form the assistant principal
forwarded, she saw there was a religious organization involved and asked
Ms. Mauve if she had checked that the purpose of the rental was an open
forum. Ms. Mauve confirmed that she had informed the renter about the
regulations and was assured the rental was for a meeting or forum, not a
ceremony or rite.
Principal Valletta approved the rental, as did the superintendent’s des-
ignee when the form was forwarded to him. It later came to light that the
group was actually conducting religious rites. The assistant principal was
temporarily removed from the school. Ms. Valletta received a verbal rep-
72 Chapter 6