Board split, Pledge policy not changed
May 28, 2008
The DGF School Board failed to change the shool policy mandating students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The six members of the seven member board split evenly on the recommendation to ammend the schools handbook and allow students to choose to sit or stand during the Pledge.
The missing member Tracy Tollefson will most likely be the deciding vote when the policy change comes back onto the agenda in June.
Charles Samuelson, who is the Minnesota director for the ACLU suggested his group would consider filing a lawsuit if the policy is not changed after June.
The recommendation to change the policy came from Superintendent Bernie Lipp at the school districts attorney Roger Aronson urging. Aronson has advised the administration that requiring students to stand during the pledge might be considered the equivalent of making them participate in the Pledge. The school district can not force students to participate in the Pledge under Minnesota statutes. The ACLU has also sent the district a letter stating the district’s rule violates the First Amendment.
Heather Page, the mother of the student who protested the rule, expressed dismay at the vote in a phone interview.
“Their votes are going against the law, and that’s really disturbing, to say the least,” said Page, who said her son, Bishop Edens, received a card branding him as unpatriotic at school and got the silent treatment from several classmates.
“You can stand for the pledge, but that doesn’t mean you can break the law,” she said.
Seventh grader Jackson Owings insisted respect and not freedom of speech is the real issue at hand. His sentiment was echoed by Greg Moll who is the parent of a child in the district.
The members of the board also tended to agree that the issue was more about respect then freedome of speech.
“Being a vet, I am opposed to any change in the policy whatsoever,” said member Jerry Anderson. “The servicemen who’ve fought for the rights of other people don’t have any rights at all.”
Jerry Anderson, Sandy Hawk and Karleen Mjolsness were the three members whom voted against the policy change, while Marilyn Labrensz, Lori Keblar and Ronnie Tang, voted for in favor of the policy change based on the recommendation of the school district’s attorney.
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