Woodbury School Board: Drop the 'pledge' battle
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By David Delcore Times Argus Staff - Published: November 22, 2008
WOODBURY – The school board isn't budging in a battle that has boiled down to question of geography: where – not if – the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited at their local elementary school each day.
This week the board unanimously rejected Superintendent Mark Andrews' recommendation that members consider caving in to those who have clamored for the Pledge to be recited in individual classrooms as opposed to a shared foyer of the two-story school.
Andrews' recommendation came in the wake of recent news accounts that attracted national attention – turning the community of 800 and its 55-student school into a fishbowl that has provided fodder for the blogosphere and fueled a nationally televised debate on a recent broadcast of Fox & Friends.
According to Chairwoman Retta Dunlap, board members, who met several hours after that Tuesday morning broadcast, were initially divided over Andrews' suggestion that it might be best for all involved – particularly the children – to back down, let the spotlight fade, and move on.
"It has frightened kids in the place where they're supposed to feel safe and learn," Dunlap said of the publicity that has accompanied a divisive dispute that has dominated the board's time since erupting shortly after school opened in September. "All this attention focused on this little tiny school has got to stop," she said.
However, following a 90-minute discussion on the issue, Dunlap said, board members unanimously agreed to reject Andrews' recommendation and stand by their recent decision backing the latest in a series of compromises proposed by Principal Michaela Martin.
Responding to a petition signed by more than 300 residents, Martin initially proposed restoring the school's decade-long practice of reciting the Pledge on a weekly basis. That short-lived solution was embraced by the board, but when the drumbeat for the Pledge to be made part of the regular school-day routine grew louder, the board asked Martin to revisit the issue. She did, and earlier this month, the board approved a second proposal that involves allowing willing students to leave their classrooms each morning to recite the Pledge together.
That seems to be working, according to Dunlap, who said the parents she has talked to seem satisfied with the compromise and "… students are feeling safe and comfortable."
Dunlap said the board's solution satisfies the stated goal of a petition, which called for the Pledge to be made part of the regular school-day routine, while safeguarding students who, for whatever reason, choose not to participate in that tradition.
Although Dunlap said the board "respected and appreciated" Andrews' perspective, members opted not to follow his advice. Instead, she said, members decided to stand firm – sending what they hope will be a clear message to their critics in the community.
"The board is done," she said. "We're not changing this. For the sake of the children we have to move on."
Dunlap said she doesn't regret that decision, but is perplexed by some versions of the story that have surfaced in recent weeks.
"We did not ban the Pledge. We did not ban the words 'under God,'" she said, conceding that while the practice of reciting the Pledge did briefly lapse at the school this year it had not been a daily tradition in Woodbury for many years.
"It (the Pledge) had been recited once a week for 10 years," she explained.
Shortly after the controversy first surfaced the board restored that practice and members subsequently agreed students should be given the opportunity to recite the Pledge on a daily basis as called for in the petition.
Unfortunately, Dunlap said, some in the community still aren't satisfied with the board's solution and there are those who don't realize the matter has been addressed.
"Some people still don't think it (the Pledge) is being said," she said.
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