Ten Commandments in Giles County — School board OKs display » Local News

PEARISBURG, Va. — The Ten Commandments will once again be displayed in Giles County Schools.

After a six-month-long controversy, the Giles County School Board voted 3-2 Tuesday afternoon to approve a group of documents including the Ten Commandments to be displayed in county schools.

Board members J.B. Buckland, Joseph M. Gollehon, and Ron Whitehead voted in favor of the display while members Dr. J. Lewis Webb, Jr. and Drema McMahon voted against the display.

The vote would allow the display of the Ten Commandments along with other documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, Mayflower Compact, Magna Charta, and others with no document being larger than another.

Additionally, all documents displayed would be provided through funding by private persons or organizations and would allow the school board to approve any other documents proposed by community members to be added to the display.

Following the vote, McMahon and Webb both spoke to explain their decision to vote against the display of the documents.

McMahon cited the cost of pursuing the case to the state and Supreme Courts as the reason behind her dissent.

“Outside interests have threatened to take legal action,” McMahon said. “We do not have the money to fight this battle to the Supreme Court. We have had no raises for any Giles County teacher in four years. It would cost an estimated $350,000 at least to fight this.”

McMahon said the controversy had brought the Ten Commandments “back to life” in Giles County and did praise community members for supporting the documents. She noted that at least 40 Giles County students had posted copies of the Ten Commandments on their lockers in light of the controversy.

“This battle, as you have referred to it, has been won,” McMahon said.

Webb, a 23-year member of the board, said the decision to vote against the display concerned him.

“This has been the most difficult decision I have ever made on this board,” Webb said. “My heart is telling me one thing and my mind is telling me another... This issue has been overturned many times by the Supreme Court. I find people are asking schools to do more and more to raise their children. Much support has come from our community. I applaud you all who have stood up for this.”

None of the members who voted in favor of the display stated the motivations behind the vote.

Before the vote, citizens were given a chance to address the board. Cory Brunson, a former Giles County student and current Virginia Tech doctoral student speaking on behalf of the Virginia Tech Free Thinkers, addressed the board first.

“There is a relevant precedent for displaying a group of documents that include but are not limited to the ones discussed in this display,” Brunson said. “The criteria for this demand that the documents serve a secular legislative purpose, must not have the primary intention to prohibit or permit the display of religious documents, or excessively deal with religious statutes. I have not seen an opposition expressed to this display previous from anyone in this area. We are here to supply that voice.”

Charlie Henderson, a Giles County resident and contractor, also spoke before the board.

“The question is not whether this is the right thing to do; this is the right thing to do,” Henderson said. “The question is not if this will be displayed but how it will be displayed. I take on the responsibility for this display as the common man. You have my word that I will put my physical, spiritual and financial resources behind you if you vote in favor of this.”

Sammy Marshall, a Giles County resident, said he would provide finances if a legal battle resulted from the board’s decision.

“We not only have support for this in Giles County but the support of Christians across Southwest Virginia,” Marshall said. “We will fight this. God will prevail. This is not over by a long shot. We will not stop until the Ten Commandments are in every school in this country.”

On May 20, 2011, the school board had intended to vote on whether or not to restore the biblical text, but instead recessed the meeting to consider the current proposal.

A four-foot-tall copy of the Ten Commandments was first hung on the walls of Giles County Schools more than a decade ago following the Columbine school shooting.

The controversy over the display began in December 2010 when school officials took down the copy of the Ten Commandments, replacing them with a copy of the Declaration of Independence following citizen complains.

In January of 2011, complaints from parents and pastors prompted the five-member Giles County School board voted to restore the biblical text to the school walls unanimously.

However, in February 2011, the board voted a second time to remove the display without citing a reason.

A group of 50 Giles High School students walked out of classrooms in March 2011, protesting the decision to remove the display, but all but 15 returned after a school resource officer spoke to them.

Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion organization threatened legal action against the school system if the biblical texts were restored stating that putting up the commandments was an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity.

The Liberty Counsel, a non-profit Orlando, Fla.-based organization has offered to support Giles County School Board if litigation results from the display.

ACLU legal director Kent Willis said Tuesday that based on his understanding of the decision, reposting the documents would violate the Constitution’s separation of church and state. He says the ACLU plans to move forward with plans to litigate.

The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled it unconstitutional for public schools to display the Ten Commandments. The First Amendment guarantees the separation of church and state on the federal, state and local level, which includes public schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

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