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The Carroll County School District says a mass baptism on a high school's football field last month violated procedure.
After an investigation, the district said the decision by Villa Rica High School to permit a church to baptize football players before practice violated the rules.
"VRHS failed to follow district facility usages procedures for outside groups using school facilities. The concerns have been addressed with appropriate personnel," the district said in a statement.
School officials launched an investigation after critics filed complaints that the event was a violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.
"This mass baptism before football practice at a public high school is one of the more egregious and bizarre violations of the separation of church and state that we've encountered in a public school," read a statement from the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
The foundation said it was pleased with the school district's admission that a mistake was made.
The baptism event was organized by Kevin Williams, pastor of First Baptist Church of Villa Rica. The pastor told Channel 2's Tom Regan the event was not designed to make a religious statement, but done at the request of eighteen football players and an assistant coach who had made a baptism commitment at his church.
"We really were trying to follow the rules. We thought we were by making sure it was after school. No one had to be there and it was not a forced issue. I never wanted to cause the school system and those people any problems at all," said Williams.
The pastor said he accepts the district's findings and is pleased with the world-wide exposure the event received.
"What started as 23,000 views at our church website is now well over three million views. It's been played in foreign countries, Japan, Korea and the U.K," Williams said.
