At the most recent school board meeting for Collier County Public Schools (CCPS) on November 14th, the board members voted three-two against a prayer before each meeting. The proposal for the prayer sparked a very heated debate between the board and Collier County residents. In an attempt to introduce prayer at the beginning of each board meeting, a new policy has been proposed.
The idea of an invocation before each board meeting first arose at the August 8th board meeting by Keith Flaugh. Flaugh is the head of Florida Citizens Alliance (FCA), a non-profit organization that strives to “improve Florida’s K-12 education by uniting and empowering teachers, students, and parents”. Invocation is known as the prayer or sermon that usually happens in places of worship. The policy would be created by other CCPS staff members and would be voted on by the five CCPS board members; Jerry Rutherford, Stephanie Lucarelli, Kelly Lichter, Erick Carter, and Tim Moshier.
This policy has since been heavily supported by board member Jerry Rutherford. In contrast, board member Kelly Lichter has shown her thoughts on the topic and even said “I don’t see how this has any direct impact on the children”. Out of the five board members, three voted against the prayer and two voted for the prayer.
The law that is currently in place in Florida is section 1003.45 of the Florida Statute, the law allows for a moment of silence in schools no longer than two minutes, but teachers can neither encourage or discourage students to pray in this allotted time. The period of reflection is usually at the beginning of the school day or school week. The same moment of silence occurs at the beginning of every board meeting, which allows for any board member or attendee to pray for any religion they feel, this period of silent reflection lasts one minute, and occurs right after the Pledge of Allegiance.
The residents against prayers in schools believe that the school board is wasting valuable time discussing something that shouldn’t even be considered. A few people speaking out about this issue are Mike Chrystia, Melanie Wicker and Christina Heuser. They are three Collier County residents who strive to create the best learning environment, despite having differing opinions on whether or not schools should promote prayer in school.
One side of the argument is that there should be an invocation allowed in schools or board meetings. The other side is that schools should stay out of religion. At the November 8th board meeting, different Collier County residents spoke out about this issue, with several speakers on either side of the argument. Both Mike Chrystia and Melanie Wicker spoke out about the reasons religion should stay out of the school environment. While Christina Hueser talks about why prayer would be a good thing.
Christina Hueser brings up how most every other government establishment uses prayer. At 03:01:02 Heuser says, “The vast majority of legislative bodies…start their meeting with a prayer… because it is so seeped into our nation’s tradition.”
At the CCPS school board meeting on Tuesday November 14, Mike Chrystia and Melanie Wicker speak out. Mainly about the negative but inevitable effects of promoting prayer in schools, as well as how church and state should be separated.
The separation of church and state roots from the first amendment. The idea that prayer should be taught at home or church, while math and reading should be taught at school.
Melanie Wicker brings up popular reasons people want to say prayer at school board meetings. At 03:04:00 Wicker states that while the statement of an invocation is occurring on other boards, the board would “open themselves up to lawsuits … end up paying huge legal fees.”
“I shouldn’t have to sit here and tell you that government sanctioned school prayer is unconstitutional.” -Mark Chrystia, 2:58:15
Chrystia then went on to recite Matthew 6.5, which refers to saying prayer in private, hoping that maybe the Bible will speak to the board members if the Constitution does not.
The next scheduled board meeting is on Tuesday December 12, 2023, at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Administrative Center. At each school board meeting there is a section allotted for public comments, where Collier County residents are able to speak out about any school board issue that they might have.
