Audio: 
• Rev. Barry Lynn on 620WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News"

BROOKFIELD - The group that unsuccessfully fought for Brookfield Central and East High Schools to move their graduation from Elmbrook Church to a secular location says the fight isn't over.

"There is an appeals process, and we do hope to take this to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals," said Rev. Barry Lynn, the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Rev. Lynn admits that there's no way an appeal could happen in time to stop the graduations for Central and East, which are to come on Saturday and Sunday, but that's not his fight anymore.

It's for other school districts which he wants to make sure don't take the same step Elmbrook Schools did.

"We think the important point here is that no one in this school district or other school districts where this might occur ought to think this is constitutionally permissible," said Rev. Lynn

"I don't want people in other communities to have to face the same thing, and I think a good decision from an appeals court would be a very good thing."

Rev. Lynn understands, too, that the District Court of Appeals is probably as far as they can go in the case.

"We'll see what happens at the appeals court, but most people who say we're going to take this to the Supreme Court, 98% of the people who do find that the Supreme Court isn't interested in hearing the case."

Rev. Lynn: Judge Was "Wrong"

A minister himself, Rev. Lynn said he had a unique perspective on having a non-religious event in a religious location, which was one of the bases for the judge's decision.

"We certainly think that (the judge) was wrong," said Rev. Lynn.

"He seemed to not recognize the extraordinary power that religious symbols have. For those of us who are comfortable with the cross, those of us like (me) who is a Christian minister, this is a very powerful symbol.

"It's very easy for me to understand why its presence in the front of this graduation makes people feel like they're second-class citizens. They don't even belong in this place that symbolically looks to combine a public school government function with other functions of the church."