Regarding the cause for action in this case: despite my general distaste for lawsuits, I agree that the ADF has legitimate grounds. To permit commercial ads on school property while barring churches is definitely a discriminatory practice, and although church and state should be kept separate, there is a major difference between separation and discrimination. Whether this discrimination was motivated by anti-religious sentiment or fear of a lawsuit by the ACLU for allowing a religious ad isn't clear to me.
But I still think it should be rendered moot by eliminating this trainwreck of a fundraiser altogether, because: a) it is costing more than it's raising, and b) there is no other way to resolve this without getting sued, either by the ADF, or by the ACLU.
The fact that there is a lawsuit taking place is an indication that someone screwed up somewhere, as this sort of thing should NOT be that hard to resolve out of court. I hope the ADF offered the school a chance to straighten things out before filing this complaint in court.
Ultimately, this is emblematic of the tragic trend in American schools that has school officials spending more time trying to cover their butts than educate children.
As an aside, I regret that there were so many cross exchanges on this thread, especially since I don't think our positions on this issue are as different as they may seem at first blush.