Religion in schools is again discussed with board members

By Lynn Hotaling

The Rev. Phillip Kuykendall, pastor of Heady Mountain Baptist Church near Cashiers, told members of the Jackson County School Board he was concerned by what had been printed in his local newspaper (Cashiers Crossroads Chronicle).

"I read where Mrs. (Mary Jane) Dillard said Jesus could not be said in school. Is that true?" Kuykendall asked.

That reference was printed out of context, Dillard said. What she was alluding to in October, she said, is Bible stories that mention Jesus, which she used to read students when she was a classroom teacher.

School board attorney Paul Holt explained to Kuykendall that teachers can't discuss Jesus in their classrooms, but that students are free to do so among themselves.

Kuykendall said he was aware of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that prohibit school employees from discussing religion or leading prayer, but he had interpreted what he had read to mean that local school officials planned to go further with regard to restricting religious expression in schools.

"I don't see how you could go further than the Supreme Court," Holt said.

Monday's other speaker was Josh Brooks, a member of Old Savannah Baptist Church, who questioned the legal basis for the separation of church and state Holt had referred to during the school board's Nov. 27 meeting.

In order to find the precise wording of the law, Holt said, Brooks would have to study various Supreme Court decisions.

"I've got religion; I've got Jesus," Brooks said. "I have to voice my concerns." Teachers can't necessarily stand up for themselves with regard to their religious beliefs, he said.

"There's always been prayer before I walked out on a football field, and the coach always led it," Brooks said.

Brooks, a 1998 Smoky Mountain High graduate, played football while in high school.

School board member James Roper told Brooks there is still prayer before football games, but that now a local pastor is the leader rather than a coach.

The local school board, said Holt, has a duty to see that Supreme Court rulings are enforced.

"This board has made no resolution to do anything," said board member Ray Trine. "This (recent controversy) came about because of Supreme Court rulings and our attempts to educate ourselves and our administrators. I empathize with you, Josh. Many of us don't agree with the Supreme Court. But we have to follow the law."

The local board held a work session for principals Nov. 21 so an attorney for the state school board association could explain Supreme Court decisions with regard to religious activities led by school personnel on school grounds.

In other business Monday:

- Board members heard a report from teachers Ray Menze and Marsha Cameron on behalf of the teacher supplement committee. Their proposal, which they made to county commissioners earlier this month, is for a 2 percent supplement during the 2001 fiscal year, an additional 2 percent during the 2002 fiscal year and an additional 1 percent during 2003. The goal, Menze said, is to achieve a 5 percent supplement.

"We believe the result (of a 5 percent supplement) would be to attract and retain the best teachers," said Cameron.

- Board members voted to make a $300 donation this year to the N.C. High School Athletic Association endowment campaign. The board's contribution will increase to $500 next year, according to Roper's motion.

The goal of the endowment, said SMHS Principal Kenny Nicholson, is to make sure that North Carolina does not have to go to a system that forces student athletes to pay to play sports, as some states have been forced to do.

- Board members voted to increase the school board's collective general liability coverage from $1 million to $5 million. The additional annual cost to the board will be $2,524. No reason was given for the increase.

- Local school board members will send a resolution to the state school board association in opposition to a proposed high school exit exam.

Superintendent Frank Burrell said he and most superintendents he has talked with feel the exit exam is unnecessary in light of the existing state-prepared end-of-course tests the state already requires of high school students.

Principal Nicholson agreed. With end-of-course tests already counting 25 percent of a student's grade, they should be the determining factor as to whether a student gets credit or not, he said.

"Kids are tested too much," said school board member Trine. "They're not trying to get them to think, they're trying to get them to pass the tests. There's entirely too much testing going on."

- Board members received a report from Community Schools coordinator Peggy Wike about outside groups, such as youth sports, Boy and Girl Scouts and civic organizations, that use the schools. It was generally agreed that the existing policy is working well. It will be examined more closely when all school board policies are updated early next year, Burrell said.

- Board members gave Assistant Superintendent Nancy Sherrill permission to apply for Impact Aid and Indian Education funds.

- A decision on six-month leases for the Comprehensive School and Discovery was tabled until next month. Burrell said he hopes to move the two programs into a house the school system owns on property adjacent to SMHS.

- A water leak under the track has caused erosion behind the SMHS field house, and has soaked the building's foundation, said school system construction coordinator Clarence Hubbell. The building will be inspected by the engineer working on the high school's work force addition to determine if any structural damage has occurred.

Progress at the new Scotts Creek school remains steady, Hubbell said. Water, sewer and electricity have been hooked to the new school, and the heat is functioning. Utility bills will be paid by the contractor until the building is completed. A problem with low water pressure at the new school appears to have been corrected, Hubbell said. A leaking valve was discovered and repaired, and the school's water pressure is now up to about 58 pounds.

All outside paving at the new school has been completed, and 90 percent of the outside concrete work is finished. The new school is expected to be completed in mid-April.

At SMHS, the slab for the new workforce addition was poured last Friday, he said.

Work is proceeding on the classroom addition at Blue Ridge, Hubbell said. The school will require upgrades to its existing fire alarm system in order to tie the two existing buildings into the new one. Hubbell's plan is to install a new system in the new building and let it serve as the hub with repaired systems in the two existing buildings feeding into the new building's alarm system. Work is under way to repair damage to communications lines that were accidentally severed during excavation for the new building, Hubbell said.

- In personnel action, school board members employed the following:

Cynthia Herren, ECP teacher assistant, Karen Pires, fourth-grade remediation, Glenda Herron, after school assistant, and Marcia Stroot, one-on-one teacher assistant, all at Smokey Mountain Elementary; and Sadie Sparks and Lester Napier, child nutrition, SMHS.

Board members approved the transfer of Rhonda Hooper to custodian/bus driver, Scotts Creek.

Resignations were accepted from Mary Woodard, after school and bus driver, Scotts Creek; Ned Pressley, bus driver, SMES; and John Leddy, custodian, Scotts Creek.

Approved as non-employee coaches were Onifer Wilmoth and Nancy Davis, Scotts Creek; and Steve Kenyon, SMHS. Approved as substitute teachers were Erin Abee, Rebecca Hill, Robert McCall, Kelly Williams, Marcia Reid, Jason Clark, Laura Johnson, Kevin McIntosh, Janet Davis, Norma Potts, Meredith Clark, Christal Lewis, Brooke Simpson and James Lawson.

Back to Archive: 12/21/00.