A Virginia school district isn’t being sued by an atheist group. They haven’t had any complaints filed against a bench that they had initially approved to memorialize a student who died in an ATV accident.
No, they decided on their own that because the bench has a Bible verse inscribed on it, that it violates the first amendment and therefore has to be removed.
Ugh:
CBN NEWS – When teenager Colton Osborne died in a tragic ATV accident last year, his Charlotte County, Virginia community wanted to honor his memory.
They decided to highlight his love for baseball and installed a bench next to the baseball field at his school, Randolph Henry High.
According to television station WSET, included on the bench is a scripture from Philippians 4:13 which reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
But the Charlotte County School Board said the Bible verse is a violation of school policy and must be removed from the bench.
“The community of Charlotte County is a very sweet and loving community and they do frequently request to give memorials,” said Nancy Leonard, the school superintendent.
Initially, the school system gave the green light for the scripture on the bench. But after meeting with its attorney about memorials school officials reversed their decision.
“During that work, we found that the memorial bench that we currently have is not legally compliant because of the establishment clause because of the Bible verse,” Leonard continued.
The school said no one has complained about the Bible verse, but says it needs to follow the law with regard to school approved memorials.
“We have to remove the bench, or cover the scripture or change that verse to something else that may represent the child,” she said Leonard.
You would think of all places, those in our education system could read and understand the simple language of the first amendment. It’s not complicated and has nothing to do with public or private schools whatsoever. It’s about Congress. Period. End of story.
It really makes me feel shame that the level of stupid among those who teach our children is so paramount.