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Posted on 10/09/2001 11:19:00 PM PDT by spf29

Madison schools' pledge ban sparks fury

Hundreds protest decision to allow only anthem

By DENNIS CHAPTMAN

Last Updated: Oct. 9, 2001

Madison - Battered by a storm of opposition to its ban on having students recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the Madison School Board will take another crack at managing schoolroom patriotism, its president said Tuesday.

On Monday, the board adopted a policy that barred reciting the pledge to comply with a new state law requiring Wisconsin schoolchildren either to say the pledge or have the national anthem played daily.

In banning the pledge, the board voted in favor of member Bill Keys' plan to instead have schools play an instrumental version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" to adhere to law.

The board's action spawned an outpouring of complaints. By 2:50 p.m. Tuesday, the district had received 426 phone calls and e-mails on the subject, with 422 opposing the new policy. Dozens more called Keys. His phone began ringing early Tuesday, and many callers angrily questioned his patriotism.

"I think it's a complete overreaction," said parent William Sampson of the ban. "Isn't 'In God We Trust' written on our money?"

Madison resident Richard Demitros added: "I think it's ridiculous that they think they can go against the rest of the world in their own little fantasy world the School Board has over there. It's just contrary to everything we believe in. If you can't pledge allegiance to this flag, then go somewhere else."

Another Madison resident, Keith Gant, was surprised the board would cave in to the complaints of a few who objected to the pledge.

"That's a pretty aggressive move for political correctness," he said. "I find the idea kind of surprising - especially with all the patriotism and loyalty happening now."

Mary Ginsberg, who has two children at Cherokee Heights Middle School, said she favors saying the pledge.

"It was fine that they were going to do the Pledge of Allegiance. The whole process was sort of goofy. It seems silly," Ginsberg said. "With what's going on now, it's probably a good idea for us to instill a little bit of national pride in our children."

The board's decision prompted the phones to start ringing at the home of Michael Furgal, state adjutant-quartermaster for the Wisconsin chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

"I've had people calling from as far away as Appleton saying they were going to bring carloads of people down here for any meeting on this," he said. "I've never seen people get this perturbed about anything."

Less than 24 hours after the board voted 3-2 to ban the pledge, school officials were doing damage control, with board President Calvin Williams saying there was confusion over what the new policy meant. Williams, who voted for the policy, called a special board meeting for Monday to revisit the issue.

Until then, schools will follow Superintendent Art Rainwater's previous policy of leaving it up to each school to decide whether the pledge or anthem will be offered.

The board's action Monday came after some parents objected to having their children recite the pledge, either for religious or political reasons. The board was looking for a middle ground, and Keys said his measure would protect children who objected to the pledge from having to recite it.

"It's the least intrusive and least offensive way to deal with this," he said. "There are people with intense religious and political beliefs and national loyalties who object."

Keys didn't buy Williams' contention that his motion was misunderstood.

"I don't know how it can be misinterpreted," Keys said. "If he wants to reconsider it, that's fine."

Williams noted the policy would not have prevented children from saying the pledge on their own or stopped teachers from using it in their lessons.

"It was simply for addressing the requirements of this law," Williams said. "It was not the board's intent to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from our schools."

The board reacted to a new state law that requires schools to offer the recitation of the pledge or the singing of the national anthem daily to students in grades one through 12. Previously, the state had required the pledge or anthem in first through eighth grades only once a week.

Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield), who won inclusion of the requirement in the state budget, said he hopes Madison will allow the pledge.

"It's my hope that Madison will join the rest of the state in restoring the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance or the singing of the national anthem each day," he said. "My goal was to re-establish a tradition most people in Wisconsin grew up with."

Furgal, of the VFW, said children need a basic underpinning in patriotism.

"I did it when I was a kid, and I did it without any major trauma to my life," he said. "It promotes patriotism.

"We're paying taxes. Why should the money go to a school system that doesn't promote America?"

The board's action also was criticized by state Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), who predicted it would draw national criticism. The policy was passed on Monday, the second day of U.S. military strikes against Afghanistan in the nation's war on terrorism.

"It is unbelievable that the Madison School Board would decide that political correctness outweighs patriotism at a time of war," Nass said. "A handful of misguided people convinced the School Board to adopt a goofy policy."

While school officials were bombarded with calls from those who opposed the decision, some parents backed the policy.

Sheila Crowley, president of the parent-teacher group at Madison's Lapham and Marquette elementary schools, said the board's decision was the correct one.

She questioned whether young children really benefit by reciting the pledge every day.

"I know it," Crowley said. "Did I know, as a second-grader, what it meant? I didn't. If they can do it in a context and talk about it with it with some age-appropriate group, maybe it would have some meaning. But kindergarten through third graders? You might as well have them say the months of the year if you want them to learn something."

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