RI school prayer banner to be removed within days
CRANSTON, R.I.—A prayer banner ordered removed from a high school by a federal judge will be taken down within days after the school committee voted not to appeal the decision, Cranston's schools superintendent said Friday.
Superintendent Peter Nero told The Associated Press that the banner is expected to be removed within a week. He said there are a few remaining legal issues to be worked out between attorneys for the school system and the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU challenged the constitutionality of the display on behalf of 16-year-old student Jessica Ahlquist.
After hours of sometimes heated public testimony, the school committee voted 5-2 on Thursday night not to appeal the federal judge's ruling that it was unconstitutional and should be removed. An attorney who represented the city said an appeal that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court could have cost an additional $500,000 in legal fees. Lawyers for the ACLU have already asked the court to order the school system to pay $173,000 in legal costs.
The legal battle over the banner -- which was covered with wood until the school committee decided whether to appeal -- sparked passionate debate on both sides and made Ahlquist, an atheist, the target of online threats. She said after Thursday's vote that she was "thrilled" with the outcome.
Nero said he visited Cranston High School West on Friday morning, and described the situation there as normal. But he said the school was tarnished as a result of the dispute. He said he's glad the matter is over and that everyone wants to move on.
