controversy brewing in East Texas schools

[RussBLib]

18. a coda to this saga?

The Longview (Texas) News-Journal published a very good commentary on the White Oak kerfuffle. I'm quite pleased to see such rationality coming from East Texas. Eat it Louis Gohmert!

Editorial: White Oak ISD made right choice on Scripture reading

It may not have been popular with many East Texans, but White Oak ISD Superintendent Michael Gilbert made exactly the right decision in asking high school Principal Dan Noll to pick inspirational quotes from outside religious texts for his morning announcements.

The fact is, this is settled law in the United States and has been for more than 50 years, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school authorities giving prayers over an intercom system violated constitutional rights. The ruling covered all sorts of religious instruction by tax-supported entities and said students listening to announcements were a "captive audience" who did not have a choice not to listen.

Continuing to have the morning Scripture readings in defiance of a threat by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and at least one individual to sue would have been nothing more than a waste of taxpayer money. To fight might have satisfied some, but the district would have lost.

If they're thinking clearly, most parents would not want any sort of religious instruction in public schools. There are far too many differences within just the Christian religion to satisfy everyone. For that matter, there are versions of the Bible that some accept and others flatly reject. This topic is a field of land mines.

the rest of it is here.

We're still keeping an eye on Noll.