Bible class in limbo

Proponents of a Bible as Literature class in local high schools are pushing hard to add the elective course to the Huntington Beach Union High School District’s curriculum for the next school year, but school board members want to study the issue more, pushing off a vote on the proposal until June at the earliest.

About 60 supporters who want the class offered next year attended Tuesday’s school board meeting. But the board effectively declined to place it on the next agenda for study and action, leaving the issue essentially where it was before. It was not known whether the delay would still allow for a pilot program to begin next year in the Huntington district, which includes some schools in Westminster and Fountain Valley.

Cal State Long Beach education professor William Jaynes, one of the group’s experts, said in the group presentation that students without literacy in the Bible were put at a disadvantage in understanding history and literature.

“The Bible is not only the most published and most influential book ever written, it has been the most popular book every single year in recorded history,” he said. “When I see students not familiar with the Bible, it’s difficult for them to understand Western literature or American history.”

School board president Susan Henry said she needed time to read over materials the group gave board members at the meeting, which detail a curriculum that has been used before in Long Beach and Fallbrook and has recently been introduced in the Murietta Valley School District. She also said she generally preferred the regular system for introducing electives, in which community interest leads a particular school to ask to try a new class rather than the whole district having to offer one.

“I prefer at this point to leave our system the way it is,” she said, adding she would put the proposal on the agenda for the next board meeting so that board members could vote on it if a majority of the board wanted to do that. “As president, I believe we would need a majority. I have not heard three people who would like it on the agenda. Perhaps at a future meeting.”

Only Trustee Matthew Harper dissented, saying he felt supporters had made a strong case and deserved to have the issues debated, leading to tense conversation among board members.

“I think they feel it was bottled up in committee,” he said, gesturing to the crowd, which applauded loudly. “Do we have at least one place for this type of class? I’d like for this to come to agenda for the next meeting.”

Retired engineer Walter Schulte of Westminster, who has been leading the cause, had placed the class on the agenda as any citizen can do. But a citizen-placed agenda item can only be considered for discussion among the board and they cannot vote on it. He said he brought the issue to the council after an earlier meeting with school district staff when supporters showed them a proposed curriculum and a petition with 2,000 signatures from school district parents, students and teachers supporting the class. Schulte, with the help of his daughter and congregants at First Presbyterian Church of Westminster, gathered the signatures. But school officials rejected the proposal.

“We’re ordinary parents endeavoring to add something we consider very, very important to the curriculum,” he said. “It was never presented to your board, nor discussed by public forum. We’re not looking for staff to decide, we’re asking board of trustees to rule on the matter as representatives of the community.”

Don Olmsted, 40, of Fountain Valley, said the class would improve achievement, use free King James Bibles donated by the Gideon Society, and challenge students with creative assignments — not teach doctrine.

“It’s not a religion class, not a church Bible study, not a doctrinal class, nor is it a philosophy class,” he said. “It is carefully designed to avoid church-state problems.”

Board member Brian Garland said he appreciated the “high quality of comments made,” but felt the district had to be extremely cautious about mandating a class on a single religious text. He said a historical class on comparative religions was an easier sell.

“The point I’m trying to make is that in a public school, we’d best be very careful, since we service the children of the total community,” he said. “Some are Muslims, Hindus, Native Americans, all various religions. We have to be careful we don’t get on a path that makes it appear we’re teaching religion.”

Board members are next allowed to discuss considering putting the class on the June agenda at their May 8 meeting, when some said they would be better informed after reading materials received at this meeting. California open meeting laws prohibit them from discussing it together before then.

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

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