BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 The Kern County Board of Education postponed the discussion and vote on displaying the Ten Commandments at its community schools, which was slated to happen Thursday.<\/p>\n
Board President Mary Little was absent because she lost her voice, Trustee Joe Marcano said at the meeting.<\/p>\n
The Board Room where the meeting took place and the room over were both filled with people by 6 p.m. when the meeting began.<\/p>\n
Who is the Kern County Board of Education? Breaking down the role of the board that oversees Kern\u2019s community schools <\/a><\/p>\n After the closed session, which lasted over an hour, Marcano said there is further investigation and research the board needs to do regarding the matter before dropping it from the agenda for the night and opening up public comments.<\/p>\n Audrey Chavez, a member of the community, said the separation of church and state should be protected.<\/p>\n Chavez held up a poster that read, \u201cDon\u2019t put the 10 Commandments in our public schools.\u201d<\/p>\n Chavez asked the community members in attendance who oppose the display to read the poster out loud.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t put the Ten Commandments in our public schools,\u201d multiple people said in unison.<\/p>\n Dawn Wilder, a pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, said the board is about to desecrate sacred scripture by turning into \u201cclassroom art and political propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilder said parents in Kern County are terrified for their children and the board dishonors parents by inserting themselves between them and their children. She urged the board to vote no on the resolution.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have made an idol out of politics and called it righteousness,\u201d Wilder said. \u201cYou steal the dignity, safety and belonging every child deserves in public school. And by using the Ten Commandments to push an agenda, you profane the very scripture you claim to honor. If you truly cared about the Ten Commandments, you would stop breaking them.\u201d<\/p>\n Gabriel Garcia, a youth organizer with the Dolores Huerta Foundation and former high school Spanish teacher, said he believes Liberty Counsel thinks Kern County is an \u201ceasy place\u201d to get headlines as it is the most conservative county in California and the board should think about their intentions in offering legal services.<\/p>\n Garcia also said diversity is one of the U.S.\u2019 greatest strengths.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I think about history, I also think about how indigenous traditions and entire cultures were erased by colonizing practices, especially when religion is forced on people. So we have to be thoughtful not to repeat those patterns even if it\u2019s unintentional,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n A speaker who didn\u2019t say his name said he supports the public display as it would make a significant shift back to the values the U.S. was founded on. He was the only speaker on Thursday to support the resolution.<\/p>\n Several members of the community expressed dissatisfaction with the board policy that limits public comments on one topic to 20 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was an agenda and all of the people who are here took their time out to be here. Whether you researched your own agenda item or not is not their fault, they should be allowed to speak because they\u2019ve taken their time out to be here,\u201d Chavez said.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the agenda it tells you that there\u2019s a 20-minute limit per topic so please follow board policy, thank you for being here,\u201d Marcano said.<\/p>\n One person asked when they will be allowed to speak about the resolution again.<\/p>\n