Written by Don Byrd
The School Board of Jackson, Ohio will face an unusually large crowd at the meeting tonight when they discuss whether to heed the demands of a lawsuit and remove a painting depicting Jesus from a local Middle School, or to fight the issue in court. The Columbus Dispatch reports:
School officials expect a large crowd at tonight’s meeting as the board meets with representatives of the Liberty Institute, a nonprofit group based in Plano, Texas, that defends religious freedom, to learn its legal thinking and recommendations.
…
Dan Barker, a former minister who serves as vice president of the nonprofit group, said: “It boggles the mind in 2013, a public-school superintendent and school board would not understand that a devotional painting of Jesus, called ‘The Head of Christ’ — identical to millions hanging in churches and Sunday school classrooms across the country — may not be posted at the entrance of a middle school.”
Obviously, the context of the display may be the deciding factor in whether it violates the First Amendment or not. But either way, school officials should do the right thing and not use hallways of the school to honor and promote religious figureheads. A portrait of Christ is appropriate for churches or homes, not for schools funded by and for all taxpayers.
