On weekdays, images of Christ are covered in the classrooms at Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church. Bibles are tucked away and crosses are stashed so public school students can learn in a neutral zone.

To the government-supported tenant International Community School, the church is a landlord, not a gateway to salvation. The campus is safe and equipped with everything a young school needs, from offices to a cafeteria. More than 300 students pack tiny classrooms and spill onto the playground to unwind, their laughter piercing the silence of sanctity.

Another 100 kids are whisked away to learn in Stone Mountain where a second church partner has offered classrooms at a discount.

Across metro Atlanta, church campuses are becoming sanctuaries for cash-strapped start-up charter schools. The partnering has provided classrooms for hundreds of Georgia public school students. Charter schools save on rent and churches get help covering expenses.

“There were no available facilities in our price range,” said principal Laurent Ditmann of ICS, which moved to Pattillo in 2002. “We are very serious about the separation between church and state, but at the same time we are dealing with two churches that are very supportive of our mission. It really is a careful arrangement. A third of our students are Muslims.”

Churches and charters enter into contracts that mandate a clear separation between learning and liturgy. In most cases, school functions are on weekdays when churches are usually vacant. Classes often end before evening Bible study. About 10 churches have such partnerships.

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