Francis Howell calendar's wording draws fire

By Michael Beder, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 4, 2006

In a 4-3 vote, the Francis Howell School Board voted Thursday night to change "winter break" to "Christmas break" on the district's calendar.

Board members said they had received an almost unprecedented number of e-mails from district patrons on what they agreed had become a sharply contested issue. At times the debate became heated.

The proposed change "has harmed Francis Howell again," said board member Marty Hodits. "We've created another media frenzy ... we are not living up to our responsibility. Our egos are in our way."

Hodits and other opponents also said the change would expose the district to potential lawsuits and send a mixed message about the district's respect for diversity.

Board member Bob Farr, a local pastor, opposed the change, arguing that it would be unfair to religious minorities.

"I believe in democracy," he said. "I do not believe in theocracy ... This is a public institution, and we should try not to offend people."

Outside groups, including the Jewish Community Relations Council and regional officials of the Anti-Defamation League, had expressed their opposition to the change in the days leading up to the vote, arguing it would be exclusionary.

Supporters of the measure dismissed those concerns and downplayed the change's significance, saying that it is simply intended to acknowledge that most people in the district celebrate Christmas, which is recognized as a federal holiday.

"It is not meant to be disrespectful," said board member Terry Black, who introduced the proposal. "This is not about curriculum, this is not about forcing religious beliefs on anyone."

Board Vice President Bill Spencer made a similar point. "I don't see personally how changing a word on a calendar is going to create a theocracy," he said.

The district already has an Easter break, but board members who opposed Thursday's decision have said before that the break doesn't pose the same problems. That break is limited to Good Friday and Easter Monday, unlike the winter break, which lasts several weeks and often encompasses other holidays, such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Ramadan.

In an opinion prepared at the board's request, the law firm Crotzer, Ford and Ormsby concluded that the change wouldn't violate the federal or Missouri constitutions, but that opinion didn't allay the concerns of critics on or off the board.

The move might not be unconstitutional, but "it does have the potential to be very disrespectful," said parent Angela Lawson during the public comment period.

After the vote, Hodits said he had been contacted by organizations including the ACLU that might be considering legal action. "I'm sure we're going to feel some repercussions," he said.

But Black said the district wouldn't be threatened by legal costs, and that he has had discussions with other groups such as the national legal assistance group Alliance Defense Fund, that might defend the district on a pro-bono basis.

"Their track record shows that any time a school district has needed their services, they provided them," he said.

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