School Board: ‘Official capacity’ gets clarification

For four hours, a crowd of 20 paced, sat quietly and murmured to themselves while members of the Santa Rosa County School Board convened in a closed room in Milton to discuss possibly clarifying parts of a consent decree.

The July 5 special meeting of the school board was called to discuss clarifications to the consent decree that was originally part of the 2009 ACLU lawsuit regarding school sanctioned religious activities.

The board convened at 4 p.m. and shortly thereafter retired to a closed, executive session. Community members waited more than four hours to hear what the board had to say.

Horatio G. Mihnet, of the Liberty Counsel, who represented the 24 individuals who sued the district to challenge the consent decree in May 2010, waited with his clients.

Mihnet and his clients were hopeful that the board would amend the consent decree and clarify what the term “official capacity” meant for teachers and school board employees. Mihnet said that the district claimed the adjustments were “minor clarifications” but his clients saw things differently.

For more on this story, see the July 14 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.