Right Wing Watch does ‘a quick Google search’

The liberal website RightWingWatch.org posted an article Wednesday by Kyle Mantyla critical of the quality of American historian David Barton’s research. To support the criticism, Mantyla offered up information from what he acknowledged was “a quick Google search.”

The search concerned information about fired Mount Vernon Middle School teacher John Freshwater, who was a guest on Barton’s radio program WallBuildersLive.com.

After Mantyle offered up what he presented as counter-evidence to information presented on Barton’s program, Mantyle concluded by saying, “Barton's success is largely rooted in the fact that his intended audience generally doesn't question anything he says or bother to check to see if his claims are accurate or true, and this is just the latest example of how he uses that power to routinely mislead them in order to create false narratives that support his own political and religious agenda.”

What, then, was presented on Barton’s program that was so terrible? As Mantyle put it, “Freshwater was portrayed simply as a man who has been relentlessly persecuted because of his Christian faith.”

Based on “a quick Google search” Mantyle said that “Freshwater was actually fired for allegedly burning a cross onto the arms of two of his students and using his classroom to teach creationism, attack gays, and promote his religion.”

However, if someone listens to the full program instead of just the short clip that Mantyle includes, one will discover that Freshwater does acknowledge that multiple accusations were lobbed at him after he refused to remove his personal Bible from off his classroom desk.

Although it may be true that “a quick Google search reveals dozens of articles reporting” the claim of the alleged burning as a reason for Freshwater’s firing, such a claim is not supported by the primary source documents: The school board did not include that unsubstantiated allegation in their list of reasons for firing the teacher.

In the program, Freshwater does address the “Creationism” allegation: “I teach what I call a ‘robust’ evolution. I showed the evidence for evolution, and I showed evidence that was opposed to evolution. […] I stayed neutral on it and let the kids make a decision on it.” (Editor’s note: The Mount Vernon Board of Education did not state that Freshwater directly taught Creationism, but, instead, that he taught “evidence both for and against evolution” and that the “‘evidence’ against evolution was based, in large part, upon Christian religious principals of Creationism and Intelligent Design.”)

Although the school board’s reasons for the firing did include, as Mantyle mentions, the allegation that Freshwater made remarks about homosexuality to his class, that allegation itself is not supported by the relevant school records: The lone witness who testified to having heard the remarks was, according to school records, not in Freshwater’s classroom.

It is true that the school board claimed Freshwater included his religious beliefs in his teaching. That characterization by the board, however, was their summary statement of the issues involving evolution and the alleged remarks about homosexuality.

Next time, Right Wing Watch, do more than “a quick Google search.”

MV school board candidates answer questions

During a debate Thursday evening, candidates for the Mount Vernon Board of Education addressed topics ranging from church and state issues to problems with school funding.

The debate began with a questioned posed to Jeff Cline about expressing Christian values in the classroom. Cline responded that although he does not advocate preaching in the classroom he does believe that there are times when a Christian should choose to honor God’s law over man’s law.

Cline gave the example of a time, as a high school baseball coach, that he prayed and discussed his Christian beliefs with a student who had approached him asking for help with some problems. “As a Christian,” Cline told the audience, “if you have certain moral values and certain convictions, stand for them.”

Later in the evening when the matter of the school’s handling of the firing of teacher John Freshwater was brought up, Cline said that issue is one of the reasons he is running for the school board. He explained that his position on that issue is that “Freshwater was wronged.” He went on to say, “If we have another situation like that, we will make sure that it is not [handled] wrong.”

The debate was sponsored by the Knox County 912 Project and held at the Knox County Career Center, Adult Education Building.

Candidates present were Dr. Margie Bennett (Incumbent), Jeff Cline, Marie Curry and Stephen Kelly. Not present were Cheryl Feasel and Jody Goetzman (Incumbent).

Comments from Richard McLarnan were not included in video coverage of the debate due to him being a candidate for the governing board of the Knox County Educational Service Center instead of a candidate for the Mount Vernon Board of Education.

For information regarding “church and state” issues, see the article by David Barton “The Separation of Church and State.”

(“School board candidate takes on notion of 'separation of church and state'”)

(“MVBOE candidates answer questions”)

UPDATE 11-2-2011 (FACT CHECK):

School district’s expenses for recent legal matters

During the debate, Bennett responded to the issue of the expenses for recent legal matters, saying (32:33 in video):

“I would just remind everyone that the Mount Vernon City School Board was sued, we didn’t seek the lawsuit, we simply defended the school district, and it’s been upheld in each court in which it has been presented. It amounts to $300,000 per year for three years, which was one percent of our budget, for legal expenses, which is probably not exorbitant if you think of a business; we are the fifth largest employer in Mount Vernon. Am I happy that we had to spend money that way? Absolutely not. But the school board had no choice; it was obligated to defend itself. And we have attempted to put additional personnel policies in place so that more evaluation and accountability will take place at a sooner level so that hopefully teachers will know the boundaries and respect them.”

The following is a list of the recent legal matters and the cost incurred by the district (expenses covered by the district’s insurance are not included):

• The federal case Doe v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. (in which the Dennis family sued the school board and others): $0.00.

• The federal case Freshwater v. Mount Vernon Board of Education et al. (in which Freshwater sued the school board and others): $0.00.

• The state administrative hearing pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 3319.16 (in which evidence for and against firing Freshwater was presented to a referee): $922,425.91.

• The Knox County Court of Common Pleas case John Freshwater v. Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education (in which Freshwater appealed his firing): $0.00.

The district was not directly responsible for the legal costs in the cases in which it was sued. Although it is true that once the board decided to start the process of firing Freshwater it was obligated to have a hearing if Freshwater requested one, the board did make choices that affected the cost incurred by the district for the hearing.

When Freshwater requested the hearing he also requested that the hearing be held before members of the board. Instead, the board decided to have the hearing before a referee. (Both options are allowed under Ohio law.) That decision cost $35,749.50.

When the board faced the decision of legal representation for the hearing it had two options under Ohio law: Use the services of the law director for the city of Mount Vernon or hire an attorney. The board chose to hire an attorney and ended up paying the attorney’s law firm $833,288.16.

Related documents:

The schools’ expenses for legal matters. 75KB PDF.

Ohio law regarding the hearing and legal representation for the school board. 142KB PDF.


UPDATE (2011 SCHOOL BOARD RESULTS):

The following are the official results for the Mount Vernon Board of Education race (three positions were up for election):

Jolene Goetzman 4,375 (20.36%)

Margie Bennett 4,049 (18.84%)

Cheryl A. Feasel 3,757 (17.48%)

Marie K. Curry 3,733 (17.37%)

Jeffrey S. Cline 3,004 (13.98%)

Stephen Kelly 2,572 (11.97%)

Meet the candidates October 27

There will be an opportunity to meet the candidates for the Mount Vernon Board of Education on October 27 at the Knox County Career Center, Adult Education Building:

Mount Vernon School District and Knox County Education Services Meet the Candidates Night

Knox County Career Center, Adult Education Building

308 Martinsburg Rd, Mount Vernon

October 27 at 7 P.M. (doors open at 6:30)

This event is free to the public.

Source: WNZR Community Calendar

Press release: Rutherford Institute Will Appeal Ruling Against Teacher Fired for Urging Public School Students to Think Critically About Evolution

The following press release was provided today by The Rutherford Institute:

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio— The Rutherford Institute has announced its intention to appeal to the 5th District Court of Appeals in Ohio on behalf of John Freshwater, a Christian teacher who was allegedly fired for keeping religious articles in his classroom and for using teaching methods that encourage public school students to think critically about the school's science curriculum, particularly as it relates to evolution theories. Freshwater, a 24-year veteran in the classroom, was suspended by the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education in 2008 and officially terminated in January 2011. The School Board justified its actions by accusing Freshwater of improperly injecting religion into the classroom by giving students "reason to doubt the accuracy and/or veracity of scientists, science textbooks and/or science in general." The Board also claimed that Freshwater failed to remove "all religious articles" from his classroom, including a Bible.

"The judge's ruling is unfortunate because academic freedom is the bedrock of American education," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "What we need today are more teachers and school administrators who understand that young people don't need to be indoctrinated. Rather, they need to be taught how to think for themselves."

In June 2008, the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education voted to suspend John Freshwater, a Christian with a 21-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, citing concerns about his conduct and teaching materials, particularly as they related to the teaching of evolution. Earlier that year, school officials reportedly ordered Freshwater, who had served as the faculty appointed facilitator, monitor, and supervisor of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes student group for 16 of the 20 years that he taught at Mount Vernon, to remove "all religious items" from his classroom, including a Ten Commandments poster displayed on the door of his classroom, posters with Bible verses, and his personal Bible which he kept on his desk. Freshwater agreed to remove all items except for his Bible.

Showing their support for Freshwater, students even organized a rally in his honor. They also wore t-shirts with crosses painted on them to school and carried Bibles to class. School officials were seemingly unswayed by the outpouring of support for Freshwater. In fact, despite the fact that the Board's own policy states that because religious traditions vary in their treatment of science, teachers should give unbiased instruction so that students may evaluate it "in accordance with their own religious tenets," school officials suspended and eventually fired Freshwater, allegedly for criticizing evolution and failing to teach the required science curriculum.

Freshwater appealed the termination in state court, asserting that the school's actions violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and constituted religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Knox County Common Pleas Judge Otho Eyster upheld the School Board's decision in a ruling issued on Oct. 5, 2011. Rutherford Institute attorneys have announced their intention to appeal the county court's ruling.

For more information on this story, see the Oct. 5, 2011 article "County judge rules against Freshwater’s appeal."

County judge rules against Freshwater’s appeal

Knox County Court of Common Pleas Judge Otho Eyster ruled today against John Freshwater’s appeal of his firing by the Mount Vernon Board of Education.

Eyster did not cite any evidence or applicable law in support of his decision. Instead, Eyster simply wrote in his decision that he “considered the applicable law” and that he found “clear and convincing evidence to support” the teacher’s firing for “good and just cause.”

(See here for a copy of the decision. 320KB PDF)

Due to Eyster’s failure to provide specifics in his decision, the judge has left unchallenged the school’s action of ordering Freshwater to remove his personal Bible from off his classroom desk.

In the school board’s resolution firing Freshwater, the board had stated that the teacher’s refusal to remove the Bible* and, additionally, bringing into the classroom two religious books from the school’s library constituted “good and just cause” for firing him.

The board, based on the report by hearing referee R. Lee Shepherd, had provided a total of ten reasons for the firing.

Freshwater challenged those reasons in his appeal and requested that he be able to present additional information to the court, saying, “additional information has become available since the close of the hearing conducted by the referee, the information of which was not previously made available despite efforts to obtain.”

Eyster’s ruling came without the admission of additional evidence from Freshwater. Eyster explained that he was not allowing additional days of hearings because of the “number of witnesses and exhibits presented” already during the state administrative hearing.

As reported by AccountabilityInTheMedia.com in June, at least one of the ten reasons the board gave for firing Freshwater was based solely on the testimony of a witness who, according to school records obtained through a public records request, was not present in the classroom during the time period he claimed to be.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, Freshwater has 30 days to appeal Eyster’s decision.

*Note: The board’s resolution on this point is vaguely worded and is open to interpretation. Freshwater’s appeal to 5th District Court of Appeals in Ohio interprets it as being a reference to the Colin Powell/George W. Bush poster. See the article “Freshwater appeals to 5th District Court.”

Related documents:

Closing arguments from the state administrative hearing

Freshwater’s appeal (3.25 MB PDF)

Previous articles mentioning Eyster:

“Case ‘closed’ without trial, without verdict”

“John Freshwater Files Writ of Mandamus with Supreme Court of Ohio”


See the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

UPDATE 10/6/2011:

The Rutherford Institute has announced that it plans to appeal to the 5th District Court of Appeals in Ohio on behalf of Freshwater.

UPDATE 10/7/2011:

Christian Post reporter Alex Murashko has written an article about Eyster’s decision and Freshwater’s plans to appeal: “Fired Christian Teacher: ‘I Teach All Aspects of Evolution.’”

Press release: Acceding to Rutherford Institute’s Demands, Ohio Department of Education Removes Letter of Admonishment from Freshwater's Record

The following press release was provided Monday by The Rutherford Institute:

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has agreed to remove a "letter of admonishment" from the professional record of Christian teacher John Freshwater. In its letter, the ODE stated that it is investigating The Rutherford Institute's charges that the admonishment against Freshwater was issued in defiance of Freshwater's due process rights and in violation of the Department's own rules. Institute attorneys insist that the ODE's issuance of the admonishment violated Freshwater's due process rights because the teacher was not given proper notice or an opportunity to defend himself against the charges. The Institute also argues that the ODE exceeded the scope of its authority by issuing the letter in violation of the prescribed statutory procedures. The Rutherford Institute came to Freshwater's aid in the wake of a bitter and protracted legal dispute regarding Freshwater's display of allegedly Christian posters in the classroom and his encouraging students to think critically about scientific "theories" such as evolution.

"I'm pleased that the Ohio Department of Education has decided to step back and review this situation," stated John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "The right to basic due process—especially the right to defend oneself against charges—is too important to be short-circuited by any government agency."

John Freshwater was suspended by the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education in 2008 and officially terminated in January 2011. The School Board's resolution claims that Freshwater improperly injected religion into the classroom by giving students "reason to doubt the accuracy and or veracity of scientists, science textbooks and/or science in general." The Board also claims that he failed to remove "all religious articles" from his classroom, including a Bible. Throughout his 21-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, John Freshwater never received a negative performance evaluation. In fact, showing their support for Freshwater, students even organized a rally in his honor. They also wore t-shirts with crosses painted on them to school and carried Bibles to class.

However, school officials were seemingly unswayed by the outpouring of support for Freshwater. The Ohio Department of Education issued its admonishment against Freshwater on March 22, 2011, based on charges that a student was injured after Freshwater, a 24-year veteran in the classroom, permitted students to touch a live Tesla coil. However, as Institute attorneys pointed out, the administrator who investigated the initial incident ultimately concluded that the allegations had been overblown and that there was "a plausible explanation for how and why the Tesla Coil had been used by John Freshwater."

With the help of The Rutherford Institute, Freshwater is appealing his termination in state court, asserting that the school's actions violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and constituted religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

For more information on this story, see the April 26, 2011 article “Ohio Department of Education tries to revive Tesla coil issue.”

MV schools provides second presentation of ‘Religion in the Public Schools’

Late last month teachers at Mount Vernon City Schools were given the second installment in a set of presentations on church and state issues which were required under the 2009 settlement with the Dennis family.

The first presentation was given in August of 2009 by two attorneys. The second presentation was to take place by September 2010. Following inquires and a public records request from AccountabilityInTheMedia.com earlier this year, superintendent Steve Short said in March that the school was “in the planning stages for the second speaker.”

The presentation

The presentation May 25 was given by two law professors from West Virginia University College of Law: John Taylor and Anne Marie Lofaso.


(“‘Religion in the Public Schools’ - law professors speak to public school teachers”)

The topics covered were much the same as the first presentation: “Religious Liberty in America,” “Prayer in School,” “Religion in the Curriculum,” “Evolution vs. Creationism,” “Teaching About Religious Holidays,” “Religious Displays,” “Student Religious Clubs,” “Distribution of Religious Materials” and “Teacher Religious Expression.”

The only topic not covered this time that was covered during the previous presentation was school board polices concerning religion.

See here for a copy of the computer slides that were used during the presentation. 1.5 MB PDF

See here for a copy of the school board’s polices. 8 MB PDF

Additional information and alternative viewpoints

The Rutherford Institute

The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization which is representing John Freshwater, provides resources for teachers and students about their rights and freedoms:

Pamphlet: Teachers Rights in Public Education (121 KB PDF)

Pamphlet: Students Rights in Public Education (59 KB PDF)

See here for a list of additional free resources from TRI.

David Barton, American historian

David Barton is the Founder and President of WallBuilders, an organization that describes itself as “a national pro-family organization that presents America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious and constitutional heritage.”


(“David Barton on America’s Christian heritage, constitutional issues”)

Barton was the keynote speaker at Citizens for Community Values’ spring partnership banquet in Cincinnati on April 25. Although his presentation was not focused on public school issues, he did speak about church and state issues including the concept of “separation of church and state.”

See WallBuilders’ YouTube channel for additional videos about America’s spiritual heritage and the current battle over public acknowledgment of God.

Thomas Paine on “The Study of God”

The following presentation by Thomas Paine is from the WallBuilders.com article “Thomas Paine Criticizes the Current Public School Science Curriculum”:

Delivered in Paris on January 16, 1797, in a Discourse to the Society of Theophilanthropists:

“It has been the error of the schools to teach astronomy, and all the other sciences and subjects of natural philosophy, as accomplishments only; whereas they should be taught theologically, or with reference to the Being who is the author of them: for all the principles of science are of Divine origin. Man cannot make, or invent, or contrive principles. He can only discover them; and he ought to look through the discovery to the Author.

“When we examine an extraordinary piece of machinery, an astonishing pile of architecture, a well executed statue or a highly finished painting where life and action are imitated, and habit only prevents our mistaking a surface of light and shade for cubical solidity, our ideas are naturally led to think of the extensive genius and talents of the artist. When we study the elements of geometry, we think of Euclid. When we speak of gravitation, we think of Newton. How then is it, that when we study the works of God in the creation, we stop short, and do not think of God? It is from the error of the schools in having taught those subjects as accomplishments only, and thereby separated the study of them form the Being who is the author of them. . . .

“The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools in teaching natural philosophy as an accomplishment only has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of the creation to the Creator himself, they stop short, and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of His existence. They labor with studied ingenuity to ascribe everything they behold to innate properties of matter; and jump over all the rest, by saying that matter is eternal.”