This is the ongoing saga of a teacher, who a rural Ohio school board threw under one of their school buses. Actually the board is trying to fire him for keeping a Bible on his classroom desk. Coming into play, too, is and for past animosity toward his stand on desiring to question the theory of evolution, when it was okay to do so in Ohio.
For at least the third time, beleaguered, banished and suspended-without-pay middle school science teacher John Freshwater’s termination appeal hearing had been once again postponed. It had been rescheduled to take place today, Wednesday, October 1, 2008. First it was scheduled in August, then rescheduled for September then October 1, 2008 and now tomorrow Thursday, October 2nd.
Sitting since summer suspended without a salary, Freshwater awaits his “trial” to begin. The story, as carried in and portrayed by the liberal mainstream media, Columbus Dispatch, TV and radio reports, etc., have been very biased against John Freshwater. He was charged and convicted by the media with nary a consideration of his side of the story. The coverage and editorials have been particularly one-sided. The media has painted this decent, caring, conservative Christian man as a fanatic fundamentalist who burns crosses on children’s arms.
The following account is from a report carried on MountVernonNews.com yesterday:
“The Mount Vernon school board voted in June to consider the termination of Freshwater’s teaching contract due to a number of allegations of professional misconduct, based in part on complaints filed by the parents of a particular student . . . Freshwater then requested a hearing as allowed by law. An impartial referee, R. Lee Shepherd, will conduct the hearing.
“Attorneys for Freshwater and the school board received a list of referees submitted by the Ohio Department of Education and agreed to have Shepherd, director of law for the city of Shelby, act as referee.
“Although not a judge, Shepherd, as the hearing referee, controls the hearing process. He will rule on the admissibility of evidence and testimony and consider objections that are raised. Although the rules of evidence are somewhat relaxed in an administrative hearing as compared to a court of law, they do apply, and Shepherd has the authority to allow or disallow evidence presented by the parties involved. Testimony at the hearing will be given under oath or affirmation and the parties will be able to cross examine any witnesses. . . .
“. . . After the hearing, Shepherd will review the transcripts and render what is called “findings of fact.” He will also make a recommendation to the school board whether or not to terminate Freshwater’s teaching contract. The board cannot then change any of the findings, but is not bound by law to follow Shepherd’s recommendation. It is
free to make its own decision . . .”
THURSDAY’S HEARING
According to the September 30, 2008 Mount Vernon News article, the hearing will be held in the conference room of the Knox County Commissioners office, a room which has a seating capacity of about 35. I heard on the Bob Burney's radio program this afternoon that the hearing will begin at 9:00 AM Thursday, October 2, 2008. The meeting will be open to the public on a first come first served basis because of the limited seating. John Freshwater’s pastor urged everyone who is able to show their support by attending the hearing. My understanding is that the hearing will be in two parts, the first will allow the School Board to present its case, then Freshwater will be permitted in the middle of the month to present his case. My understanding is that each portion of the hearing may last more than one day.
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In addition the next regularly schedule Mount Vernon City School Board meeting will be next Monday evening at 7:30 PM.
LEARN MORE
Previous A Good Choice . . . articles
BibleOnTheDesk.com
SupportFreshwater.com
HOW YOU CAN HELP NOW
You can also help Mr. Freshwater with his legal costs by sending a check to:
The Community Council for Free Expression c/o Trinity Assembly of God
1051 Beech Street
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
Fire Him For The Right Reasons
ReplyDeleteJohn Freshwater should remove the bible from his desk or he should be fired as incompetent and recalcitrant.
He claims removing the bible from his desk would "infringe upon his deeply held personal religious beliefs granted by god." However, to keep it there is an affront to clear thinking, rational persons everywhere.
Some reasons are:
1. It is an endorsement of a religion by a governmental entity which is a violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment of the U.S. constitution.
2. It is exclusionary and offensive to people of different faiths but especially people of no religious faith.
3. The bible has no place in a public school except maybe as a topic in a literature, social studies or comparative religions class.
4. By sitting on a teacher’s desk it is an inappropriate and tacit endorsement of a religion by not just a government agency but him as an authority figure.
5. It promotes a supernatural, magical worldview. It is a book of not much more than mythic storytelling with stories of:
a. Wizards and witches (Exodus 22:18 and Deuteronomy 18:11)
b. Demons and devils (Matthew 5:13)
c. Dragons (Deuteronomy 32:33, Jeremiah 51:37)
d. Unicorns (Isaiah 34:7, Psalms 22:21 and Numbers 23:22)
e. Half man, half goat "party animals" known as Satyrs (Isaiah 34:14)
Any teacher who cannot or will not understand the points above should not be teaching the public. A religious based school would be a great place for him to teach, but not a government funded institution. Freedom loving, free thinking people everywhere are counting on the administration of our public schools to do the right thing.
Thank You,
Ed
You go Ed!
ReplyDelete