The Marion City Schools Board of Education voted Monday to display a Ten Commandments plaque previously hung at Harding High School at the Marion County Historical Society.
The plaque will be loaned to the historical society while the school district will retain ownership. The school district may request the plaque back at any time.
Superintendent Gary Barber said displaying the plaque at the historical society, located on East Church Street, will “preserve and recognize the historical value and uniqueness of the plaque, which was donated by the Harding Class of 1956.”
Harding Principal Kirk Koennecke had the plaque removed from the school in August when a parent complained and threatened to call the American Civil Liberties Union. A story in the Harding Herald in December spurred a student to protest the removal.
Superintendent Gary Barber met in January with students, members of area faith-based organizations and community leaders to identify a site where the plaque could be displayed and honor the historical value and generosity from the class of 1956. The school board deliberated and voted on Monday after hearing from community members at previous meetings.
“There will be many places where this plaque will be welcomed and appropriate,” said board member Mike McCreary. “I support this action to celebrate the gift from the Harding Class of 1956 and prevent the citizens of Marion City School District from having to engage in long, costly and dividing legal conflicts.”
The decision to place the plaque at the historical society comes after deliberation with several legal experts. Board members and Barber sought advice from Constitutional law experts at Notre Dame, Capital and Ashland universities and Ohio’s state superintendent’s association. They also talked to the district’s legal firm, Bricker and Eckler.
“Under the First Amendment, there is a strong constitutional presumption against government in general, and public schools in particular, engaging in religious expression or speech,” Barber said. He said government, under the establishment clause, generally must not engage in religious expression so it does not appear as though government is advancing or inhibiting a specific religion.
“Given the authoritative setting of a school, and the unique susceptibility of children, courts are especially vigilant to guard against the “subtle coercive pressure” of government religious expression in the public schools,” Barber said.
“These potential constitutional difficulties facing the board, as well as the potential litigation costs to resolve these difficulties, will be avoided by not displaying the plaque in the Marion City Schools system.”
Board member C. Gary Iams, a Harding graduate and former teacher and administrator, said he’s never seen an issue come before the board “that’s been more difficult for me to decide.”
“The fact is that the issue of displaying religious symbols in schools has been addressed many times by courts around the country, including the United States Supreme Court,” Iams said. “It is very clear from every legal authority with whom we consulted that it would be a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States for Harding High School to continue to display the Ten Commandments, an act which clearly promotes one form of religion over others.”
Iams said he’s also concerned that – if the school district is sued and loses the case – its legal costs could easily exceed $150,000.
“I believe it would be a dereliction of my duties as a board member to expose this district to the potential loss of hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars defending a position that would likely be unsuccessful,” he said.
Board member Ted McKinniss said every legal expert has told the board that “our situation in Marion could not pass Constitutional scrutiny.”
“It is out of this respect for this gift that I vote to have the plaque placed on loan to the Marion County Historical Society where it can be legally displayed with all the respect it deserves,” he said.
“It also gives future boards of education the opportunity to bring it back to our halls should circumstances change.”
Board president Steve Williams said a framed set of the Ten Commandments hangs in his dining room.
“It is likely that a visitor to our home will know where my heart lies,” he said.
Williams said, however, that as a board member he must set aside any personal preferences “in order to impartially administer the duties of this office.”
“Financial stewardship is most certainly an aspect of this office and we each take seriously the funds entrusted to us in order to educate children; each decision we make has financial repercussions,” he said.
Board members Williams, Iams, Rocky White, McCreary and McKinnniss voted unanimously to loan the plaque to the historical society.
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