Anaheim Board Opens Schools to Religious Groups

After hearing more than three hours of arguments at a school board meeting that at times took on the atmosphere of a religious revival, the Anaheim Union High School District trustees voted to open the district’s facilities once again to Bible study groups and other church-related organizations.

The five trustees voted unanimously late Thursday night to implement a controversial national law enacted last year that requires schools getting federal money to offer “equal access” to religious groups if other non-academic organizations are allowed to use school property.

In January, the district voted unanimously to open school facilities to all groups. In March, however, it reversed itself by a 3-2 vote after a number of legal questions and other reservations were raised.

That set the stage for Thursday’s meeting. Technically, the board’s decision was whether school facilities should be made available for non-academic activities or remain closed to them.

As the speeches made clear, however, almost all the pressure to open up the schools for non-academic use has come from religious groups.

Some of the 29 individuals who spoke to the board quoted the Bible and said that some of its passages mandate that schools and other public places be available for Christian testimony.

Shortly before the vote, school board member Kurt Haunfelner delivered a lengthy speech in which he contended that the new federal law is unconstitutional and “authorizes an unprecedented invasion of schools by any group, desirable or undesirable.” Nonetheless, Haunfelner voted for “equal access,” later saying he felt an obligation to the many high school students who spoke in favor of voluntary Bible study groups.

Legislators Sent Messages

Among those urging the school board to reopen school facilities to non-academic groups--and religious groups in particular--were two members of Congress, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) and William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton). Three other legislators sent messages urging the same thing: U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) and Assemblyman John Lewis (R-Orange).

An overflow crowd attended the meeting, with 138 seated inside the meeting room--the maximum allowed by the fire marshal’s office--and about another 100 people standing outside, listening to the debate over a loudspeaker.

The vast majority of those who spoke favored allowing religious groups to use school grounds.

Tim Rosen of Westminster, one of the high school students who spoke in favor of Bible study on the campuses, said such groups provide “an area which people could come to with their their troubles. . . . We’re not shoving religion down their throats--it’s love.”

He added: “Christianity is not a religion but a relationship for living.” The overflow audience burst into applause.

Rosen then said: “Jesus . . . is telling us to read the Bible in public and back it up, and that’s what we’re doing.” This produced another burst of applause.

Another youth, Alexis Perumal of El Toro, contended that the U.S. Supreme Court could not restrict prayer in school because prayer is free speech. Perumal said that the school board would be violating constitutional rights if it tried to restrict prayer in schools. “By not allowing (students) to pray, you are violating the law,” Perumal said.

Student Complaints

The focal advocates of “equal access” at the meeting were Congressmen Dornan and Dannemeyer. Both told the school board that Bible study students at high schools in the district had complained to their congressional offices about inability to use school property.

Said Dannemeyer: “The thrust of this (federal) act is to permit students the ability to study the Bible. The Bible is the foundation of our civilization.”

Dornan started his address by scolding the school board, telling them he’d heard that board members failed to respond promptly to letters from students on the issue. (Board members later disputed this claim.) Dornan went on to describe the Bible as “one of the foundations, if not the foundation, of what we, in our school system, call Western civilization.”

Dornan urged the board to allow religious use of classrooms during school lunch hours--not just before and after school. He threatened to put in special legislation in Congress if the school board didn’t open the noon hour to Bible study groups who wanted to meet then.

But the school board rejected, by a 4-1 vote, a motion to expand “equal access” to include lunch time, when classes are still in session.

‘Very Complex Issue’

About five of the speakers urged the school board to keep the schools closed to religious organizations and other non-academic groups. Among them was the Rev. Robert B. Shepard Jr., senior minister of Anaheim United Methodist Church who urged the board to delay action. “This is a very complex issue,” he said. “I wonder if the religious leaders in our community have really been consulted.”

Ellen Pais of Los Angeles, assistant director of the American Jewish Congress, said: “It is our position that the law is unconstitutional.”

A parent, John C. Seawright of Anaheim, told the school board that opening the doors to one religious group means an opening to any that claim to be religious. “If you admit one, you must admit any that apply,” he said. “If requested, you will have to provide access to the Moonies, the Hare Krishnas and any of those who are a long way from mainstream religions.”

Two school districts in Orange County, Saddleback Valley Unified and Capistrano Unified, in previous months debated equal access and decided to deny school use to all non-academic groups. The Newport-Mesa School District voted in October to implement the federal law, and thus its schools, like Anaheim Union High School District’s, are now available for use of student religious groups.

John Nicoll, superintendent of Newport-Mesa, said Friday: “The district has not had one problem in the 10 months since we implemented the (equal-access) law.”