By Eric Lendrum
A public school district in Oregon has expanded a previously-enacted ban on political symbols to encompass even more imagery, prohibiting nearly all kinds of political symbols from being displayed by employees, ABC News reports.
Last month, the Newberg School District voted to forbid staff from showing left-wing political images in their classrooms, including Black Lives Matter flags or gay pride flags. But after threats and backlash from the far-left, the district voted on Tuesday to repeal that particular ban and instead enact a broader measure that bans any kind of political symbols, from left-wing to right-wing. The new policy was approved by the board in a 4-3 vote.
“We need to get moving back towards education,” said Dave Brown, the Chairman of the Board, who voted with the majority in favor of the new ban. “We’ve been derailed for quite a while.”
After the initial ban was passed, the board faced criticism from far-left activists outside the town, who threatened to boycott the local economy, as well as members of the Oregon State Legislature who condemned the district. The Oregon State Board of Education formally called on the district to rescind the ban, falsely claiming that it infringed on students’ political identities and rights to freedom of expression.
The Vice Chair of the School board, Brian Shannon, agreed with Brown’s assessment that the obsession over the policy was overblown.
“This policy is so innocuous,” said Shannon after the Tuesday vote. “It just says that teachers can’t display political symbols at work while they’re on school time. I don’t want to spend five, six more minutes on this issue, let alone six more weeks.”
But board member Brandy Penner criticized her colleagues who voted in favor of the new rule, making racist statements about Shannon in the process.
“Maybe it is nothing to you as a white, privileged male. But, it’s a really big deal to a lot of our community, and a lot of our staff, and a lot of our students,” Penner said after Shannon’s remarks on Tuesday.
Originally published by American Greatness. Republished with permission.
