![]() “If I don’t vote the way you want me to on religious issues, go after me.” “If I am elected, I will follow the requirements and objectives of what a board member should be doing: I will focus on student performance as far as academics,” said former board member John Pruitt. Most of them stressed that they are religious, but would keep that part of their lives separate from a possible board seat. Those other candidates tend to be more skeptical of the board’s direction. “Other people are well-recognized and well-known,” she said. “I haven’t sat in every single board meeting and can’t say they’ve crossed the line,” she said.Īlthough she’s a member of a church with thousands of congregants, Melton said she’s a “dark horse” candidate. “I’m not necessarily a follower, but I do weigh everything out accordingly,” she said.Īnd that includes the prayer-during-meetings issue, which Melton said she needs to learn more about before deciding whether the board was correct to appeal the 9th Circuit Court’s decision. Melton said that she intends to make up her own mind about issues that come before the board. “The prayer policy’s purpose is predominantly religious in violation of the Establishment Clause” of the First Amendment, which prohibits a governmental establishment of religion, a three-judge panel wrote in an unsigned decision. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the board had gone beyond a simple invocation, a common practice at governmental meetings, and advocated Christianity during meetings. He said he will be thinking for himself and has long intended to enter the world of politics. Moore expressed confusion over why the board’s use of prayer had run into legal trouble. “I do know that Pastor Jack and I have similar ideas when it comes to the Gospel, when it comes to the Biblical mandate, when it comes to service in the community.” “I can’t speak to what was in Pastor Jack’s mind when he decided to support my campaign, to support me on the board,” Moore said. There are no signs for any of the other seven candidates in the race. 6 election: Signs for congregant Paulette De Soto Melton and Jody Moore, the senior pastor of Praise Tabernacle Bible Church in Chino, both sit on the lawn of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. But the church appears to have two favorites in the Nov. Hibbs did not respond to requests for comment. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) And that’s the nation that we live in.” Campaign signs on the lawn of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in front of the sanctuary in Chino Hills on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. And it’s very important that we vote for those who represent our concerns. ![]() “And if we don’t hear that you’re listening to the voice of the people, then what happens is, voting time comes. “We’ve entrusted our kids to you,” Hibbs told board members at their Sept. In 2016, the three board members were ordered to pay $202,971.70 to the Freedom From Religion Foundation for their attorney’s fees and other costs. Supreme Court, after having lost at the U.S. 1, the board voted 3-2 (with Na, Cruz and Orozco voting in support) to appeal to the case to the U.S. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation sued the district in 2014 over the board’s habit of discussing religion and the Bible mid-meeting, sometimes for minutes at a time. But it’s only once the two gentlemen on the board started saying things from the dais that this popped up.” “There might have been some grumbling about it, and certainly not enough to bring a lawsuit. ![]() “As far back as I can remember, there was always some sort of invocation, usually involving people of different faiths,” said Don Bridge, a candidate for one of the two open seats. Fellow school board member Pam Feix likewise is not running for another term. Orozco, who was first elected in 2006, is running for Chino City Council this November. 6 election with two incumbents choosing not to run for re-election to their respective seats. Their faith has helped guide their decisions, including to fight an increasingly costly legal battle over the presence of prayer, not just at an opening invocation ceremony, but throughout school board meetings.īut the balance of power on the school board – and whether it’s guided by the faith of three evangelical members – is up for grabs in the Nov. Board member Sylvia Orozco attends an associated evangelical Christian church, Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. ![]() In recent years, the Chino Valley Unified school board’s three-person majority has had a decidedly religious bent.īoard Vice President James Na, first elected in 2008, and board member Andrew Cruz, first elected in 2012, are both members of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, a politically active megachurch with thousands of congregants. ![]()
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