Posted: 3/05/04
Ministers turned away from schools during lunch break
By Erin Curry
Baptist Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)–A Kentucky school board has upheld its decision to prohibit ministers from visiting students at school during lunch, despite protests from a local church.
Pastors from Little Flock Baptist Church outside Louisville said for 17 years the school system had allowed students to request that their ministers eat lunch with them at school, but in January Bullitt County School Superintendent Michael Eberbaugh instructed schools to end the visits.
“The Kentucky Education Reform Act says our responsibility … is to mentor the children and provide good examples and leadership for them, and so that's what we were doing when we were at the schools,” said Zach Montroy, communications director at Little Flock.
“We weren't evangelizing, and we weren't passing out literature. We weren't praying with the students. We were … there to be their friends and mentors.”
The Bullitt County school system's policy states: “Students are not permitted to bring guests or visitors to school without permission from the principal.”
The ministers said they had been accustomed to signing in and out as visitors each time they had lunch with students.
“We cannot allow individuals to just sign themselves in anytime they want to,” said Layne Abell, school board chairman.
The church presented its case to the school board. After hearing the church's case, the school board called for a recess and then went into closed session. Members decided to uphold the superintendent's original decision to end the visits and added that only parents would be allowed to have lunch with their students, Montroy said.
“We've decided not to file a legal suit against the school board now because they've decided not to let anybody in schools,” Montroy said.
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