I am a Christian, and I oppose this proposal. 

   1)  Where is the extra money that Mr. Vegas thinks the school district has in order to defend the lawsuits that would be brought (and lost) should this proposal pass?

   2)  Require posters like this to be placed in every classroom, and I believe you would have to allow posters representing other religious beliefs (or non-beliefs). 

What an unmitigated mess this would be and a tremendous waste of resourses.

Good point, crude.   Teaching children to put trust in a deity who would order a tribe to smash the skulls of the babies of their enemy, as the judeo-Christian Bible does, would surely leave a scar on these kids for life. 

As far as Mr. Vegas goes, he knows this will never fly with the full board (at least one can hope).  Therefore, he is just trying to show off that he is defending his faith angainst a soulless society.  Whether it gets implemented or not is not the point.

If this is allowed, I will personally sue the Kern HIgh School District for breaking the establishment clause.  If I wanted any reference to a deity to be permanantly affixed to my child's environment, I'd have sent them to private school.  It's bad enough that I have to carry money with a declaration that I consider divisive and imprudent. It's bad enough that my children have to recite a 19th century marketing tool at 8:00am, every morning, which declares this nation to be under God (but only since 1954).  If a sign goes up saying, "In God We Trust", then I will rally the troops for equal time and opportunity and place signs up that say "In logic and rationality we trust." 

Why stop at "In God We Trust?" I think every classroom should also have the Ten Commandmants, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, and the Boy Scout Motto. Each class should also have prayer before the bell rings, followed by the class singing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me."

Good grief, we have a President forcing his religion on us. That's why Americans are going to China and Mexico (yes, Mexico) for stem cell therapy.

If Mr. Vegas believes in teaching history & government, then he should realize that there is a reason for the separation of church and state. Suggesting the posters is bad enough. I'm not comfortable that a non-profit organization is lined-up to donate them. My child goes to school to get an education, not to get her soul saved. My misspent tax dollars go to maintain a school, not some religious agenda. Whatever needs to be said about the motto should be in the school history and government textbooks. 

Why is it such a "Big Dot Deal" for you people anyway?

If you don't believe that there's anything to the whole Religion Thing anyway, why are you getting all worked up about it? Public schools stopped using the Bible as a Text Book a long time ago.

Those Christians (not just Catholic) who Want their kids to be taught from the Bible get together and start private Christian Schools affiliated with their Churches.

If you want your kids to be taught Atheism, get together and form a private Atheist School and send them there..........Tit-for-Tat.

I see signs up all over the place (public schools included) that say "Have a Nice Day". I personally resent someone telling me what kind of day to have. Maybe I want to have a crummy day. It should be my choice. Rather than jumping up and down and pounding my chest about it, I just ignore those signs.

Tony,

I get worked up about it, because - without my express consent - my four year old was instructed to say the Pledge of Allegiance with the phrase "under God".  So, essentially, without my permission she was subjected to instruction in the belief that there is a God.  Not only that, but she was asked to swear an allegiance (are four year olds capable of understanding what a pledge is?) to a nation "under" that deity.  How would you feel if you walked into a public school classroom and a teacher told your child that they had to swear an allegiance to Zeus?  I tolerate the pledge because I don't wish to make my four year old an example.  Unlike Michael Newdow, I can set my ideology aside for the safety of my child.  Hanging a sign that says "in god we trust" in a classroom violates the establishment clause.  Would you be okay with Vegas hanging signs that say, "In Buddha we trust.", "In Allah we place our allegiance.", "In Vishnu We  Trust", or "In reason we trust!"?  If your answer is "no", then you're close to understanding why some of us do not support this.

My son is in Boy Scouts.  He follows the rules of the BSA because he CHOSE to be a Scout.  I made it very clear to him that he would have to play by their rules.  But, school is mandatory for every child.  Every child in this nation is entitled to a public education in which their civil rights are not violated.  Children are not entitled, by the feds, to a religious education.  That has been, and will continue to be, the responsibility of the parents.   Part of that social contract means that each religion will be respected or none at all.  Frankly, the Bible wasn't used in many schools --- that's why the Catholic Church funded parochial education in America.  Keeping schools secular is the historical norm, not a modern construct.

The problem with "just ignoring" the signs is that they will not be ignored and they serve as a divisive marker.  Look at the Pledge...the kids who choose not to say "under God" are often the victims of social violence and hazing.  Ignoring the offense makes it easier to slip into the curriculum because no one is complaining. 

Do you support the installation of foot baths in our schools and extra recess time for Islamic children?

Do you support the rights of a Sikh child to carry a kirpan (a small sword/dagger) to school?

Would you support me if I wanted to hang up a sign in every classroom that said "In Reason and Science we trust."?  What about "In brotherhood we trust"? 

Do you support a sign that says "In dharma we trust."?

How about a sign that reads "We place our trust in the Latter Day Prophet."?

If not, then you are a hypocrite of epic proportions.

You're okay with the promotion and inclusion of your religious beliefs because they are yours.  Just wait until someone tries to promote Fundamental Mormonism or Islam in a Bakersfield classroom...

why are we so focused on forcing religion on others? We should be focusing on how to improve schools and improve the way our young people are learning. Having a motto "In God We Trust" in every class room does not address the issue of children learning.

Also, this is a total waste of our tax money.

Chad Vega is a prime example of the ignorant past of Bako:

From Rolling Stone circa 2005:  

What you will find is a bleak moonscape of oil fields; a chorus of radio-talk-show hosts ranting about illegal immigrants and welfare moms; a store called Second Amendment Sports, which does a brisk business; and, along the highway that leads into town, a billboard of a radiant Jesus that urges be an organ donor. give your heart to the lord. The downtown streets feel frozen in the 1950s: the family shoe stores, the swivel-stooled burger joint, the coffee shop where the waitresses call all their customers "hon." Merle Haggard was raised in a boxcar in a section of town called Oildale, where residents post beware of dog signs on their cracked windows, and Buck Owens made his mark here singing about thwarted love in honky-tonks with corrugated tin walls. Teen births and high school dropout rates around Bakersfield are among the highest in the state.

After reading most of the posts... I really see the need for "In God we Trust" to be posted in schools and everywhere else. 

TonyH, you might ask the person who thinks "rolling stone" pretty much has it "on the mark" why such a big deal is being made of something that a relatively small % of the populace is against.

Its called the "tail wagging the dog" and there are certain vocal minorities in this country that are trying to do just that!

I've lived in a whole lot of places blognroll and I like it in Bako just fine (warts and all).

You know, come to think of it, those damn warts give the place character.

But then, I'm a Catholic and we are taught to self flagellate! <ha> <reveling here>

(revel in our depravity)

In his religious zeal, Vegas has apparently neglected to think through to the potential results of his proposal.

The sadder thing is that he was elected to his school board position by a significant plurality of popular vote.

That speaks volumes about the large segment of the local voting populace that embraces his views about sectarian dogma that should be offered our children. 

saber

Just goes to show: You let a two-bit politician put 'In God We Trust" plaques on public buildings and a one-bit politician will want them in schools. 

Where's the ACLU when you need them?

Regardless of whether this is a sound idea for education, there has to be acknowledgment that this is a litigious nightmare. The lawsuits alone would cost the city into the potential millions. This also detracts from the focus, the kids. They have enough on their plates with their workload and their lives to be drawn into an issue we are still settling as adults.  Make the school a comfortable safe place, not a place of secular division and elitism.

Chad Vegas is inviting trouble from the ACLU. (maybe on purpose)  Does he see himself as some kind of crusader?  I think he using his position  to further his own political aspiritions. 

He's sitting on a board that was set up to oversee the educational lives of the children it serves, not their religious or spiritual lives.

Really, where does he get off?  Does he want to spend educational dollars fighting the ACLU?

Also, Mr. Vegas, stay out of personnel matters.  Leave it to the Superintendent to oversee.  After all, that's why he was hired and he doesn't need you looking over his shoulder. 

Your nose is tooooooooooo long!

Who's afraid of the ACLU?

It's the people of this nation who bear the responsibility to push for change.  If no one speaks up for God being represented in schools (in a largely Judeo-Christian society no-less), then those who are staunch about the separation of church and state will surely make their opinions known.

I believe it's an excellent call to action for those who believe in God to support him being part of the structure of our children's lives. Fear of a lawsuit should not be a deterrent to support, speak out on, and stand up for what you believe.

Christians are always careful to point out that having the word God in the classroom includes the God of all faiths.   In the next breath, however, they complain that the exclusion of Christian principals in schools has led to the deterioration of America's social structure.  They all want to return to the "good old days" of the 1950's when there wasn't any

• Murder
• Abortion
• Rape
• Child Molestation
• Spousal Abuse
• Theft
• Alcoholism and drug abuse
• Loudmouth atheists

In all fairness, Christians should be willing to let tax paying atheists have equal time in the classroom explaining why religion is a myth.

It is thoroughly un-American to ignore the Constitution and its adjacent tenants of Amendments.  These were put in place by our forefathers and founders who themselves were fleeing religious persecution, ie forced religion.  It is in everyone's interest to promote American values of freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, through whichever religious belief that may be.

Get it started Pete and I'll be your first signature!

Blognroll, you wonder what science has done for our hearts?  It has shown us that Jews are not responsible for the Black Death, something that religion thought was the cause.  It has shown us that someone who does not drown when thrown in water is not a witch, again something that religion was convinced of.  It has shown us that someone who does not believe in your religion is not the reason for all evils in the world.  Science has taught us not to kill people who you believe to be heretics.  Too many people forget that.

You're grasping at straws.  Is anybody convinced by this that science has the power to change our hearts and to eradicate evil in the world?  If hearts are filled with hate, those hearts will use science to perpetuate hate.  If hearts are filled with love, then the loving individuals whose hearts are warmed by love may be able to find a way to use science to promote love.  But love itself comes from the heart, as does evil.