Osceola County votes against adding school chaplains
Osceola County’s school board on Tuesday voted against having chaplains in its schools.
Board member Jon Arguello tried to get the measure passed, but the majority of the board voted against adopting the item.
“Bringing religious leaders into the public schools is not only unnecessary, it is counterproductive,” one speaker said during public comment.
“We need God back in because ever since they removed him, all we’ve seen is death, destruction, sexual immorality, anxiety, mental health issues,” another speaker said.
There was passion on both sides at Tuesday night’s Osceola County School Board meeting, where implementing voluntary faith-based chaplains in schools was up for discussion.
Many speakers considered the proposal a liability and claimed the Christian faith would overshadow all others.
“After signing the school chaplain bill into law, (Gov. Ron DeSantis) declared that Satanists be disallowed,” Lucian Greaves, spokesperson for the Satanic Temple said.
One person questioned whether the school district would consider implementing the policy if most of the Chaplains were Muslim or of Pagan faith.
Some speakers said students need access to spiritual guidance, no matter the religion, as long as they meet the requirements of the state statue.
District 3 board member Jon Arguello said people who are against the policy are spreading disinformation and fear-mongering.
“I don’t care what all these crazy people say,” Arguello said.
He even bashed the district.
“If there was a student who came up here asking for I want to be chemically castrated because I’m a transgender ideologist, the school board members on this dais would pay for the Uber to send that student to go to the clinic, but here in this situation, a student comes and they ask for spiritual guidance because they need something different than what we’re offering? Then, they want to cut it down,” Arguello said.
David Williamson, the president and director of the Central Florida Freethought Community, said he did not know what to expect when going into the meeting, especially because the board originally planned to just discuss the proposal, but then it was put up for a vote.
“I’m glad to see that it failed mightily,” Williamson said.
The item will no longer be considered and there won’t be discussions about it at future meetings, according to another board member.