SAN DIEGO -- In the past three years, San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn gave away $80,000 in public money to an organization in La Mesa called Life Perspectives, according to information obtained by the 10News I-Team.

San Diego County's grant to Life Perspectives was first reported in San Diego CityBeat.

Life Perspectives' mission includes preaching pro-life doctrine to students as young as five years old, the I-Team reported.

Horn authorized money from a fund each supervisor gets to use in their districts to Life Perspectives. The fund is called the Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant.

Officials at Life Perspectives said it would use the money for a fundraiser to "underwrite educational programs that empower students to make healthy choices."

Those educational programs are what Life Perspectives calls a "whole life curriculum."

The curriculum includes lesson plans that show kindergarten students models of fetuses and use the Bible to demonstrate, "God's creation and the value of human life."

"The government should not be subsidizing explicitly religious speech," said David Blair-Loy with the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego.

He claimed Horn's grant violates the separation of church and state, and added, "With all due respect, Supervisor, that violates the constitution."

California's constitution lays out that separation saying, in part: "No county … shall ever make an appropriation … or grant anything to aid any religious sect … or help to support or sustain any institution controlled by any religious creed ..."

Horn issued the following statement in response to 10News' report and a story appearing in San Diego CityBeat.

"All Neighborhood Reinvestment grants are voted on in public session through an open and transparent process. The County's Office of Financial Planning has a rigorous process that requires documentation for any use of taxpayer funds and the grant funds the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved cannot be used for religious purposes. In the many years that we have been sponsoring the Life Walk, I don't recall testimony at the Board of Supervisors opposing this grant, but then again, campaign season always brings out critics. When I review grant applications, I prefer to fund those with matching funds and the Life Walk raises ten dollars for every dollar the county invests. The organization that puts on Life Walk, Life Perspectives, is incorporated as a non-religious, non-profit organization that raises awareness regarding a variety of women's health issues. City Beat's accusations are entirely based on the inaccurate assumption that the county is sponsoring a curriculum that is designed to be used in private, religious schools, but not a single penny of taxpayer funds can or will go toward that use. If you look at the Life Walk website, there is no religious proselytizing going on and county auditors will ensure taxpayer dollars do not go toward religious purposes. It's also important to recognize that when the state slashes programs, non-profit organizations, like Life Perspectives, become even more important in providing public information that empowers students to make healthy choices in all areas of their lives."

Blair-Loy said the ACLU may take legal action over the grants.

San Diego County investigators and lawyers are looking to see if the Horn's grant violates the state or federal constitution.