HUMAN-RELATIONS GROUP ASKS RESPECT ON HOLIDAY ISSUE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 9, 1993                   TAG: 9301090073
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium
HUMAN-RELATIONS GROUP ASKS RESPECT ON HOLIDAY ISSUE
The naming of school holidays is, at its heart, not a religious issue, says the Montgomery County Council on Human Relations.
In response to the controversy over changing the religious holiday names of Christmas and Easter to winter break and spring break, the council said the issue "should not be pitting members of any faith community against the members of any other faith community.
"Instead, in a democratic but pluralistic and diverse society, we see the issue as one of encouraging the citizens of Montgomery County to respect the needs and sensitivities of the minorities within our midst," said the statement released this week. The officers of the council support the School
Board's current position of giving secular names to the holidays.
The council, as a whole, encourages the School Board "to continue doing everything in its power to make our community and our schools places in which all people feel welcome, included and respected," the statement said.
The stronger statement of the council's officers reflects the fact that the officers had a chance to meet and discuss the issue, said the Rev. Gary Schroeder of Blacksburg.
The officers drafted a statement that was circulated over the holidays among all members of the council for their comment. Several members did make suggestions for changes in the draft, Schroeder said.
The council includes representatives of the Montgomery County, Christiansburg and Blacksburg governments, the county schools and 17 other organizations.
In a separate statement this week, 11 members of the the Blacksburg Ministerial Association endorsed the Human Relations Council statement.
The Blacksburg clergy went further to "encourage the School Board to consider constitutionally appropriate ways that public education in Montgomery County can recognize and educate about the significance of religion as a dimension of human life."
On Dec. 14, about 300 county residents packed a county Board of Supervisors meeting to protest after discovering belatedly that the School Board had changed the names of the "Christmas" and "Easter" holidays to "winter break" and "spring break."
The supervisors, who have no direct control over school policy, responded by unanimously passing a resolution in support of officially naming the holidays "Christmas" and "Easter."
Last Tuesday night, about 900 people attended the School Board meeting in the Christiansburg High School auditorium to speak on both sides of the issue. A majority appeared to favor returning to the Christian names for the holidays.
Although the renaming of school holidays has just become an issue in Montgomery County, the county's school calendar has referred to "winter break" rather than "Christmas" for the past five years and to "spring break" rather than "Easter" for at least 10 years.
This past spring, the School Board - at the urging of Board Chairman Daniel Schneck of Christiansburg - changed the holiday names in an employee policy manual to be sensitive to employees who might not follow the Christian religion.
Schneck resigned from the School Board following the supervisors' resolution. He said the board's action was just the latest evidence that he doesn't have the support of the supervisors, the people or his School Board colleagues.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB