By fitsnews – October 21, 2011
“I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of …”
Um, not so fast … in fact, if you’re a student at one of South Carolina’s largest school districts, you may not be hearing those words again anytime soon.
Why? Well, it appears as though Lexington-Richland School District Five – one of the most cash-hungry, scandal-plagued and overtly-duplicitous public school districts in the Palmetto state – is looking to add anti-American to its list of “attributes.”
According to an agenda for the district’s October 24 school board meeting obtained by FITS, Lexington-Richland Five’s “school day” and “school ceremonies and observances” policies would be modified by removing the Pledge of Allegiance from the daily schedule and replacing it with a moment of silence.
Not immediately clear, however, is whether the district even has the legal right to approve such a measure.
“They are taking it out of our policy,” Lexington-Richland board member Kim Murphy tells us, adding that there is “no reason to delete (the pledge) especially if it is law.”
Needless to say, local lawmakers aren’t responding favorably to the new policy.
“I’m very concerned about it, in fact I’m shocked to be honest,” said S.C. Rep. Chip Huggins, whose district includes several Lexington-Richland Five schools. “If that is the case, that’s nuts … I don’t know what they’re thinking. I certainly hope its’ not part of a movement to take the pledge out of our schools, because I will not stand for that.”
State law requires that all students say the Pledge of Allegiance at a specific time during each school day, although students who do not wish to participate are not required to do so.
“Any person who does not wish to participate may leave the classroom or may remain in his/her seat,” South Carolina law states. “The person may express his/her non-participation in any form which does not materially infringe upon the rights of others or disrupt school activities.”
Okay … obviously in light of the current policies of the federal government, we understand (and totally concur with) a policy that lets students opt-out of the pledge, but that’s not what this new Lexington-Richland policy would do – it would scrap it completely.
And our guess is that government overreaching isn’t what’s motivating the policy … since this district has proven that its not above flat out lying to local taxpayers in order to expand its empire.
Our guess is that district leaders are offended by the Pledge’s “one nation, under God” line …
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