Parents campaign to keep graduations in church – Cherokee Tribune
Parents of Cherokee County students are mobilizing to keep high school graduation ceremonies at First Baptist Church of Woodstock.
The parents are opposed to a Washington, D.C.-based organization’s efforts to force the Cherokee County School District to move the events from the church.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has threatened the district with legal action if it does not find an alternate secular location to conduct the graduations.
The county school board last Thursday postponed until its Jan. 20 meeting a vote on whether to move the ceremonies.
Darleen Prem of Woodstock said she and other parents are working to “bring the community together” to express their feelings on the issue.
“We would like to see (the school board) fight” the challenge, said Mrs. Prem, the mother of a junior at Woodstock High School.
Parents are communicating via word-of-mouth and through two pages set up on the social media website Facebook.
The “Keep Cherokee County Graduations at FBCW (First Baptist Church of Woodstock)” page created on Friday now has more than 1,600 “fans” signed up to receive updates. The Facebook page “Cherokee County Parents Against Moving Graduation” has more than 70 fans.
Mrs. Prem, who set up the “Cherokee County Parents Against Moving Graduation” page, said she hopes parents opposed to the move will meet before the Jan. 20 board meeting, but a date and location have not been set.
Roxanne Hogue of Woodstock, the mom of a senior at Woodstock High, said she supports the use of the church because of its low cost.
The district pays the church $2,000 for each school’s ceremony at the 7,000-seat facility.
“It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” she said.
Mrs. Hogue added that many families already have spent money on graduation invitations and airline reservations based on the planned dates of the ceremonies. School district officials said it’s unlikely another special events facility could be reserved for the same dates in May.
The AU contends conducting public high school graduations at a place of worship violates the First Amendment.
Mrs. Hogue and Mrs. Prem disagree, noting no one who attends the ceremonies is forced to partake in any religious ceremony.
“It’s only a building to hold a graduation ceremony,” Mrs. Hogue added.
Not so, said Ken Riddle of Holly Springs, a co-founder of the Cherokee County Secular Family Network.
Riddle said he hopes the school board will avoid a lawsuit and find a neutral place to hold graduation ceremonies that’s convenient for parents and students and “inexpensive.”
The Cherokee County Secular Family Network provides an opportunity for families who don’t subscribe to any religious faith to meet other families like them. About 18 families are involved, Riddle said, noting many are “committed” to upholding the First Amendment and the “separation of church and state.”
Riddle, who has one child in elementary school in the school district and a younger child, said the church’s sanctuary is an “inherently religious setting.”
While FBCW and other churches serve the community well with their outreach, Riddle said the overriding principle at hand is protecting “our Constitutional principles and the Establishment Clause.”
Riddle added the cost factor is “clearly an issue,” but it’s more important to keep religion out of government. Because public schools are run by the government, he said, they shouldn’t hold this “important” ceremony in a religious venue.
He urges people supporting the use of the church to look at the other side of the coin.
“A number of people in the community just don’t know what it’s like to be in the minority,” he said.
Both Mrs. Prem and Mrs. Hogue said they want what’s best for the children of Cherokee.
Along with encouraging the school board to fight the issue, Mrs. Prem said she hopes other parents stand up and let its members know how they feel.
“It’s about what’s best for the kids, and this place is best for the kids,” she said.
Read more: Cherokee Tribune – Parents campaign to keep church graduations
Via: Cherokee Tribune – Parents campaign to keep church graduations.
