MANSFIELD — (UDATED 4:55 P.M.) Mansfield City Schools board president Renda Cline wants to calm the storm that she says began after the Nov. 22 Board of Education meeting.
Cline said the board drew significant criticism after published reports about a conversation involving sitting and standing during the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem.
“It incited a lot of anger. That was definitely not the conversation that was had,” Cline told the Richland Source on Friday.
Cline said board members discussed the issue under the agenda’s “Board Matters” section. The topic was not an agenda item and the board did not vote on a resolution.
“It was just a discussion between the board members,” district Superintendent Brian Garverick said Friday. “They expressed their views on it and there wasn’t a vote, period. That’s it.”
Richland Source did not attend the board meeting. But Cline noted a quote in the News Journal’s board story drew criticism from some sectors of the community.
“As long as students are not disruptive, as long as they’re not impeding or preventing other students from standing and recognizing the national anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance, they are not doing anything in violation of anyone else,” Cline said in the story. “As long as everyone can respectfully express how they feel, I don’t feel that it’s an offense.”
Cline said the quote did not reflect her intent.
“It was totally out of context. It made it seem like it was a black and white (race) issue,” she said.
Garverick declined to comment on how he felt personally about the issue. When asked if he had witnessed Mansfield City Schools students who chose not to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem, he said no.
“I have not personally, no,” he said, adding that it has not been an issue in the district before Tuesday’s board meeting.
Cline said her view is, “The law is that no district can force students to stand. I cannot force someones child to do that, it’s not constitutional and it’s against the law. It’s important for us to have that conversation. I’ve never ever sat for the pledge or the national anthem. I lead the pledge at every one of our meetings.”
The discussion was meant to stimulate conversation about a controversial, and often misunderstood, issue and to remind parents and teachers to educate students on “their right,” she said.
“I’m never going to say it’s OK to disrespect our country and our flag. But also, don’t just follow everyone else. Children need to understand that,” Cline said.
She said she remembers seeing peers not standing during the patriotic acts growing up for various reasons. However, she said she has not witnessed Mansfield City students protesting in that manner. She also has not seen or heard of district teachers reprimanding students for choosing to sit during the patriotic acts.
But the issue has come up, she said.
“I know it’s been a concern for many people,” Cline said, specifically for parents of Mansfield City students.
She also said the issue has come up during Ohio School Board Association school board training sessions and that all board members but Chris Elswick have attended.
Cline said the board members on Tuesday — Monica Hubbard, Sheryl Weber and Gary Feagin — agreed that the district should not force students to sit or stand during the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem.
Elswick, who was absent during Tuesday’s meeting, refuted Cline’s claim that he has not attended OSBA training sessions.
“That’s way off. Over the last 7 years I’ve been to many, many meetings. And I get all the materials if I don’t attend. So yeah, I’m well versed on how the school board operates,” Elswick said.
He also said he was surprised to learn the board members talked about the issue.
“Usually (an agenda’s) Board Matters is about going to different meetings and things like that. But that (a discussion about sitting or standing during the pledge or the national anthem) should be something on the agenda,” he said.
“It’s probably something a lot of people would want to come talk about. That doesn’t promote transparency.”
Elswick said he has not seen Mansfield City students sit during either of the patriotic acts and he never heard of it being an issue.
“Quite honestly, if you dont want to say it, that’s fine. Stand silent. It’s a matter of respect. If you can’t tell people to stand, what happens if they say ‘I don’t want to sit in my desk,’ then what?,” he said.
Elswick acknowledged there is no district policy that mandates a student should stand during the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem. However, there is policy in place that prevents disruption, he said.
“It’s obvious that they’re looking to call for a disruption if they choose to sit and not stand. Stand for the pledge, just do what everybody else does,” Elswick said.
