A nonprofit watchdog committed to the separation of church and state recently notified Bolivar school officials that leading a prayer during a staff meeting is inappropriate.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent the Polk County district a letter Sept. 11 to new superintendent Michael Methvin.
In it, attorney Hirsh Joshi said a concerned employee reported that a local pastor “recited a school-sponsored prayer over the audience using a loudspeaker” during the Aug. 13 all-staff assembly.
“Several staff members were uncomfortable but were too afraid to walk out or speak out against the prayer,” Joshi wrote.
“School-sponsored prayer coerces attendees into worship. Over a captive audience, official prayer is even more inappropriate. We ask the district to investigate and cease hosting official, pre-planned prayers at its events.”
Methvin, who was Springfield’s executive director of middle and K-8 schools prior to taking the Bolivar job, confirmed the prayer was held during the Welcome Back Staff Celebration meeting a week before the first day of class.