THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501110126
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TRUDY CUTHRELL, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
MEMBERS OF THE CITY'S religious community have expressed mixed reactions to the School Board's recent decision to prohibit student groups from performing during worship services.
Tonight, they can hear the board's attorney clarify the new policy during the School Board's regular monthly meeting.
On Dec. 8, the board voted, 5-2, to approve a new policy on school/-community relations. That policy, recommended by board attorney Wendell M. Waller, actually deals little with the religious issue; the written policy devotes just a single sentence to it: ``Student groups sponsored by the division shall not perform as part of a religious worship service.'' Suffolk's previous policy did not address the issue.
This is the policy as approved by the board last month:
School groups may perform at functions which are part of the school program, community functions planned in the interest of the schools, and educational broadcasts and meetings. Music groups may participate in benefit performances which do not encroach upon employment opportunities of professional musicians.
Performing groups of students are prohibited from appearing to represent the schools at political rallies and at public occasions designed to serve the commercial interests of one or a narrowly limited number of commercial or business establishments. An exception may be made in an event involving a school's business partner.
Student groups sponsored by the division shall not perform as part of a religious worship service.
Field trip regulations shall be followed where applicable.
The policy does not specifically say students, such as members of a chorus, may not perform in churches - and requests for performances that raise doubts are to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
``This has been an interesting issue because it looks at the church-state relationship from a different direction than usual,'' says the Rev. T. Floyd ``Skip'' Irby, pastor of West End Baptist Church for nine years and father of five children educated in Suffolk schools. ``Typically, we are trying to figure out how religion fits in the public schools - but this issue is asking how the public schools fit in churches.''
In a recent interview, Irby noted how his Baptist roots color his response to the matter.
``Since Baptists were a persecuted minority in Virginia only 200 years ago because their brand of religion was not acceptable to the established church, many Baptists - myself included - have continued to be watchful that the state does not move into promoting or endorsing any religion.''
While Irby urges caution that the Suffolk school division not give the impression of endorsing a particular religious worship, he also considers it appropriate for student groups to perform at churches, on a voluntary basis, when the group is part of a non-worship program's entertainment.
For example, Irby related how his church welcomed a group of singers from Lakeland High School as entertainment at a recent church dinner.
``It was not a worship service, and those gathered were able to enjoy the group's entertainment and show the students their support of and appreciation for what they were doing for the school. I support that kind of interaction. .
Board members agonized over any action that might make churches off-limits to school groups at a time when educators and parents alike typically view as a plus anything students can contribute to their community. The new policy emerged when a board subcommittee reviewed the district's school/-community relations policy and then hesitantly endorsed its revision.
Waller, the board attorney - who also is pastor of Christian Home Baptist Church near Holland - urged the board to accept the new policy to place the district on what he called firmer legal ground. He said his recommendation was based on guidelines from the Virginia School Boards Association in Charlottesville.
And Waller argued that if a student group, representing the school division, performs in a church, that performance more than likely would be part of a worship service. ``At the present time,'' he said, ``that is not the law of the land.''
No other South Hampton Roads school division bars student groups from voluntarily singing in churches.
The potential problem critics apparently fear seems to be a bureaucratic one: Although the policy doesn't say student groups may not appear in churches, the case-by-case decision-making could prove too time-consuming, or some administrators might decide it's better to stay out of churches altogether rather than risk drawing criticism, even if a proposed performance seems to pose no obvious conflict.
It also appears some people have assumed the new policy flatly prohibits student groups from performing in churches.
``The students that I've talked to are really unified on this,'' said Jennifer Benton, president of the West End Baptist youth group. She's also a Lakeland High School senior and a member of Lakeland's Cavalier Singers. She said more than 500 of her classmates have signed a petition opposing the School Board's policy.
The Cavalier Singers have performed in local churches in the past, she said, and ``nothing but positive things have come from that, and no one in our group is opposed to it.''
As a member of the School Board, we do have a unique responsibility to uphold the laws of the commonwealth of Virginia,'' said the Rev. Mark Croston, pastor of East End Baptist Church and the board's vice chairman. He was one of the two board members who voted against the policy. Yet, he said, there is no reason to make an issue out of something that hasn't been an issue.
Croston pointed out that the Virginia School Boards Association is not a governing board.
``The local School Board's responsibility is to determine if anything (from the association) applies to our situation,'' Croston said.
The Rev. Alan Felumlee - of Main Street United Methodist Church and who also serves on the John F. Kennedy Middle School PTA - agreed.
``It's sad when we let them write our policies for us. We need to keep it in local hands and look to our local community and its needs.''
The Rev. Felton Whitfield, president of the 50-member Suffolk Ministerial Association, said that group is not yet ready to make a statement on the issue.
``We're waiting for things to be presented more clearly at Thursday's School Board meeting,'' he said earlier this week.
Whitfield and other ministers of the association wonder how the policy will be clarified by Waller tonight.
``So many churches and community organizations are already working in partnership with the schools,'' Whitfield said, ``we wonder how this might affect that relationship.'' MEMO: Staff writers Vanee Vines and Don Naden contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: The Rev. T. Floyd ``Skip'' Irby shares his perspective as a
parent and pastor on a recent School Board ruling.
TONIGHT'S MEETING
Suffolk School Board attorney Wendell Waller has said he will
clarify the board's new school/-community policy at the board's
regular monthly meeting tonight. It is scheduled to begin at 7:30
in City Council Chambers at 441 Market St.
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK SCHOOL BOARD RELIGION POLICY COMMUNITY POLICY by CNB