C-J Smacks Mooney & Meeks

In class Thursday, one of my students wondered aloud if she might be permitted to borrow a Breckinridge County school bus without charge.

It would be like a free rental car from Avis; just provide a driver and pay for the gas.

Is borrowing a bus free of charge a privilege only allowed for activities taking place at the superintendent's s church? Does this kind of sweetheart deal happen all the time?

This from C-J:

Stick to football

If the adult school personnel associated with the Breckinridge County High School football team are as tenacious at getting a squad ready to play as they are at splitting hairs, a state championship surely awaits.

The team's head coach, Scott Mooney, and the district's superintendent, Janet Meeks, triggered controversy recently when Mr. Mooney took about 20 players on a school bus to the Baptist church he attends in nearby Hardin County. There, the group attended a revival, and nearly half of them were baptized. Ms. Meeks, who is also a member of the church, witnessed the baptisms.

The mother of one 16-year-old player is upset that her son was baptized without her knowledge and consent, that a public school bus was used for transportation and that Ms. Meeks was present and did not object. Her son said the coach had told him and other players that the outing would include only a motivational speaker and a free steak dinner. Two other parents, however, said their sons told them that the trip would include a revival. Baptisms apparently weren't specifically mentioned, Ms. Meeks concedes.

On its face, the incident seems a clear violation of constitutional strictures against government promotion of a specific religion. Public schools, and its officers, are an arm of the state; they must remain neutral when it comes to the exercise of religious freedom. Baptisms of young people are the province of personal and family decisions.

Period.

Exactly what part of this Breckinridge County school officials don't get is unclear, however. They are too busy shrouding the incident in fog.

The trip was voluntary, another coach paid for the gasoline and no player was rewarded or punished based on whether or not he participated, Ms. Meeks said. She, of course, ignores that young people often are influenced by their coaches and feel the coaches have authority over them. Parental consent for the baptisms wasn't necessary because the players are 16 or 17 years old, Ms. Meeks added, disregarding that society views young people of that age to be minors who are barred from activities ranging from voting to signing binding contracts to purchasing alcohol.

And, Ms. Meeks contended, if the upset mother didn't know the purpose of the trip, it's because her son wasn't forthcoming. (When all else fails, blame the kid.) And just to make sure no more uncomfortable details emerge, Mr. Mooney says school officials have told him not to comment.

Breckinridge County officials have tried obfuscation. It doesn't work. Next, they should give transparency a chance and pledge not to again confuse their personal religious beliefs with their public school duties.

Kentucky High School Coach Gets Players Baptized

This from ABC News:

Coach Scott Mooney's Actions Questioned

After Field Trip Includes Baptisms

The actions of a Kentucky high school football coach have been questioned after he took nearly two dozen players on a field trip to an evangelist church service where nearly half the kids were baptized.

Breckinridge County High School Coach Scott Mooney last month used a public school bus to transport the kids approximately 35 miles but arranged for a volunteer driver and promised to pay for the gas himself, according to Superintendent Janet Meeks, who attended the service and witnessed the baptisms of her public school students.

"It was completely voluntary," Meeks told ABCNews.com, noting that of the team's 46 players, about 20 elected to go on the trip. Of those attendees, nine were baptized.

"They didn't get anything for attending," she said. "They didn't get anything for not attending."

The mothers of one of the baptized boys has said publicly that she was upset to learn her son had been baptized without her consent on a trip sponsored by a public school employee...

The Courier-Journal reported,

[Player] Robert Coffey, said Coach Scott Mooney told him and other players that the Aug. 26 outing would include only a motivational speaker and a free steak dinner.

“He said it would bring the team together,” Robert, a sophomore, said in an interview.

Two other parents, however, said in interviews that their sons told them that Mooney had said the voluntary outing to Franklin Crossroads Baptist Church in Hardin County would include a revival.

Mooney, contacted by phone, said school district officials instructed him not to comment.But Superintendent Janet Meeks, who is a member of the church and witnessed the baptisms, said she thinks the trip was proper because attendance was not required, and another coach paid for the gas.

An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, told C-J that the trip would appear to violate Supreme Court edicts on the separation of church and state — even if it was voluntary and the school district didn’t pay for the fuel.

“If players want to attend the coach’s church and get baptized, that’s great,” Friedman said. But a coach cannot solicit player attendance at school, he said, noting, “Coaches have great power and persuasion by virtue of their position, and they have to stay neutral.”

The Associated Press reported,

Forty-seven people at the Southern Baptist service were submerged in water, an act of obedience symbolizing one's acceptance of Jesus Christ as savior and "rebirth" in faith....

School Superintendent Janet Meeks, also a member of the church, said Tuesday in a statement on behalf of school employees that the coach's use of the school bus after school hours for an outside activity was allowed. He asked to take about 20 players to the church on the bus, the fuel cost was donated and a volunteer drove.

It is not known if the Breckinridge County Schools allow other citizens to use school buses without fees, so long as they pay for gas and provide a driver, or if this was a special privilege only afforded members of the superintendent's church.

A constitutional attorney in Kentucky said the coach and the school system broke the law.

"A school cannot promote an endorsed religion," said Edwin Kagin, a constitutional lawyer in Kentucky who focuses on religion cases with atheists. "Doesn't matter if it's poor judgment, it's a crime."

Lisa Gross, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said most school districts in Kentucky have a policy that allows the use of school buses for extracurricular activities.

"There's nothing inherent in state law that would prohibit" a trip like the one the team members took aboard a school bus.

Gross said the department is aware of what happened but does not plan to investigate the trip.

Gross, went onto tell the AP that state law bans "adult-led religious activities," but only in a school setting.

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