School board chair: Decision on prayer not made lightly

School Committee Chairman Kristin Mirliani said the recent decision to eliminate public prayer from the CHS graduation ceremony was made not only for legal reasons, but also out of consideration and respect for all students’ beliefs.

The decision, made over the summer in response to a complaint lodged by the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, has been the subject of considerable debate and media attention after it first surfaced in a Facebook post earlier this month. Some have applauded the decision while others, including Rev. John Tamilio — who delivered the invocation at the 2018 graduation ceremony — have been highly critical of the move, suggesting that administrators acquiesced to outside pressure to avoid a potential lawsuit.

However, Mirliani, who addressed the issue at the start of the October 18 School Committee meeting, said that the final decision was based on a number of factors and was “not made easily or without discussion and research.” And while compliance with the law was certainly an important consideration, she stressed that it was far from the only consideration.

“It was about ensuring that all of our students felt supported and welcomed at graduation,” Mirliani said. “I now have heard from multiple students from diverse backgrounds that such a prayer made them feel very uncomfortable last year. That is unacceptable for us as a district. We strive to be sure that all of our students feel supported and welcomed.”

Mirliani added that there was no public discussion or vote on the matter because there was no policy change. “There simply was no policy that required prayer at graduation,” she said.

“The decision made was only with our students in mind,” she said. “It was made to ensure they would be able to celebrate every minute of what is truly their ceremony.”

In another policy matter, the committee took a formal vote to support the ‘yes’ position on Ballot Question 3 and to urge voters to do the same in the November 6 state election. A ‘yes’ vote on Question 3 would keep in place a current law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in places of public accommodation. A ‘no’ vote would repeal this provision. The request to the committee to support a ‘yes’ vote on Question 3 was made by resident Christine Smith, who said that upholding the law would protect transgender residents of Massachusetts from discrimination.

Mirliani said the School Committee has updated all of its policies to ensure that they are in compliance and to accommodate all Canton students.

“We are trying to create an inclusive environment,” added Vice Chairman Mike Loughran …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Oct 26 2018. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.