Many of you might recall the controversy last month over Easter decorations. Many people were saying that Indian River School District superintendent Susan Bunting had told the teachers to take down all the Easter decorations, including ones that weren’t considered religious symbols. WGMD was then able to obtain comments from District spokesman Dave Maull saying, that at no time did she tell them to take down the Easter decorations, but rather “There would be no school-sponsored activities.” WGMD also received a statement from Dr. Susan Bunting about the celebration parties on March 20th, but made no mention of the Easter decorations. To hear report # 1 click here. To hear report # 2 click here.

Last night, a board member got up and spoke to the other members, but was mainly speaking to Dr. Bunting. Here are the exact quotes of what Board member Nina Lou Bunting said: She said that the issue regarding the Easter decorations was

“…Misconstrued by the talk show circuit, and in the confusion, there were several days of innuendoes, false statements, nasty, rude, and crude remarks, and other verbal assaults aimed against our superintendent, Susan Bunting. I was present when the board was apprised of the concerns of these holiday celebrations—these parties which might be interpreted as non-compliant with our new religion policy–a policy that was recently revised to meet state and federal law. Dr. Bunting was not an advocate of the necessary decisions. She merely relayed the concerns that have been raised, and the recommended resolution. Susan Bunting in this case was the messenger, and as sometimes happens, the messenger was shot. Susan, I want you to know how very sorry I am that you bore the brunt of this thing, and became a scapegoat for this district. It certainly wasn’t fair to you after all the time and energy you give, making this district one of the finest in the state. I consider it a travesty that you were treated as you were. I extend my apology for all you personally endured.”

WGMD tried to get Nina Lou Bunting to comment, but she refused, saying she wants nothing to do with WGMD. She said “They shouldn’t go on the air and talk about things they don’t know anything about,” and that, “They get everything all screwed up.”

WGMD was able to receive these comments from Indian River School District Board President, Charles Bireley who like District Spokesman Dave Maull, said that no—-she did not say for the teachers to remove all the Easter decorations. Here is what Charles Bireley told WGMD:  He also clarified exactly what the attorney had her pass on to the teachers: You can listen to that here. He basically says the attorney told Susan to tell them to exercise caution in handling the holiday parties and activities because of the recent decision on the lawsuit.

There was obviously a misunderstanding somewhere. On which side, I don’t know. You can listen to WGMD News report # 1 here and # 2 here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.