To avoid appearing before the Alberta Human Rights Commission, which could potentially cost Pembina Hills Public Schools “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in legal fees, the Lord’s Prayer will no longer be recited at Busby School, Pembina North Community School and Dunstable School.
Following an in-camera discussion at their May 24 meeting in Barrhead, trustees rescinded the original motions directing all three schools to recite the Lord’s Prayer during their opening exercises, along with an Administrative Procedure governing the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in area schools.
Back in the fall of 2015, a parent whose child attended Busby School raised concerns about the Lord’s Prayer being recited at the school. That led to the practice being suspended at Busby.
However, Busby-area parents overwhelmingly stated at a meeting they were in favour of the prayer being recited at the school.
Parents at Dunstable and Pembina North — the other two schools where the prayer was recited — were also polled and they supported the recitation.
After some investigation, Pembina Hills administration determined that all three schools could continue to recite the Lord’s Prayer if they were directed to do so through a board motion and if it was conducted only during opening assemblies.
Following those decisions, a complaint was filed against Pembina Hills Public Schools under the Alberta Human Rights Act about the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at local schools.
According to a May 25 press release from Pembina Hills, attempts were made to negotiate a resolution, but were unsuccessful. The matter was scheduled to proceed to a hearing before a Tribunal of the Alberta Human Rights Commission.
Board chair Jennifer Tuininga said the date for the hearing had not been set.
If they had proceeded, however, Pembina Hills would be faced with hiring lawyers for a “very complex legal case” involving founding legislation, including the 1867 constitution.
Tuininga said it was a difficult decision that involved more than one discussion, but they ultimately decided that funding should be invested in Pembina Hills classrooms, not in courtroom battles.
“It turns it into an expensive legal issue and that raises the stakes. So we decided that risk was too great and our business is providing education, and not taking on complex Constitutional issues,” she said.
As a result of this decision, the complaint before the Alberta Human Rights Commission is being withdrawn. The release states acting Supt. David Garbutt met with staff May 25 to inform them of the decision and letters notifying parents of the outcome went home with students that day as well.
Leane Maguire, who chairs the Busby School council, said on May 26 she hadn’t heard any feedback from parents.
“Absolutely not,” she said, when asked if there had been any outraged reactions.
Maguire said she was just glad the board had made a decision and taken the action that had to be made.
“We support our board and our school division,” she said.
Karen Gabel, who chairs the Pembina North Community School council, said they had an open house at the school on Friday and there was a lot of discussion among the parents about the Lord’s Prayer.
Gabel said they all felt it was unfortunate, but that it was also “the way of the world.”
“We can’t expect anybody and lose money fighting over something that we think (we are powerless against),” she said.
Gabel said there might have been a few parents who were upset, but for the most part, people were pretty accepting.
“In the other Pembina Hills schools, they haven’t recited the Lord’s Prayer. It was something that we fought for in our own little rural schools (as part of) our own identity,” she said. “But now because of something else that’s kind of beyond our control, and I guess we’ve got to accept it.”
