Three parents have asked Principal Garnet Goertzen of Sturgeon Heights School to reinstate the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer as part of the daily morning exercises.
Students at the school have not recited the prayer this year as Sturgeon School Division board members debated whether it was appropriate for prayers to be recited in a public school.
In November the school board trustees re-examined and then revamped policies regarding prayer in Sturgeon schools.
As part of the new policy changes, parents attending a Sturgeon Division school must first ask the principal to allow the practice. Next the principal must inform the school board of the parents’ request.
The seven trustees met last Wednesday and discussed how to proceed now that parents have made the request.
Coming up with the appropriate procedure was the sticking point for Trustee Tracy Nowak, vice chair of Sturgeon School Division.
“I have heard some staff members have concerns about very young children being excluded. How are we going to get the staff on board? How are we going to implement this,” she asked.
The board members agreed the next step involves getting a consensus from parents. Goertzen will be asked to conduct a survey. He will also be asked to present the board with a plan that allows some students to abstain while others pray.
This process will take time, Superintendent Michele Dick warned.
“We have asked Mr. Goertzen to plan a process and bring it forward to the board. The parents understand it will take time – potentially April or May before we reach some conclusion,” she said, adding that she anticipated that a parent committee would be formed.
“I expect Mr. Goertzen will want a committee of parents and a staff member,” Dick said.
No parents attended Wednesday’s board meeting, but in a later interview Luke Fevin said that as yet no tally has been made among concerned parents.
“As far as I am aware there has been no count made, but through the grapevine I believe a census will be taken and then it will be off to the board again,” he said.
Fevin, who does not wish his children to recite the prayer, is anxious to learn how the children will be separated.
“I hope we’re not going to segregate children every day on the basis of whether they are Christian or non-Christian, because according to the School Act, Christian prayers are the only ones that will be allowed,” he said.
Fevin stressed that his issue is not with other parents or even with the school administration, but rather, it is with the school board and the minister of education because the Provincial School Act prescribes that the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer may be part of a school’s opening exercises. Fevin believes the School Act is outdated and should be changed.
“My issue is that our school board felt legally pressured to allow Christians and only Christians the right to prayer. The education minister needs to step in,” he said.
