Bible Verse on Bench In Memory of Virginia Teen Must Be Removed
When teenager Colton Osborne died in a tragic ATV accident last year, his Charlotte County, Virginia community wanted to honor his memory.
They decided to highlight his love for baseball and installed a bench next to the baseball field at his school, Randolph Henry High.
According to television station WSET, included on the bench is a scripture from which reads, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
But the Charlotte County School Board said the Bible verse is a violation of school policy and must be removed from the bench.
"The community of Charlotte County is a very sweet and loving community and they do frequently request to give memorials," said Nancy Leonard, the school superintendent.
Initially, the school system gave the green light for the scripture on the bench. But after meeting with its attorney about memorials school officials reversed their decision.
"During that work, we found that the memorial bench that we currently have is not legally compliant because of the establishment clause because of the Bible verse," Leonard continued.
The school said no one has complained about the Bible verse, but says it needs to follow the law with regard to school approved memorials.
"We have to remove the bench, or cover the scripture or change that verse to something else that may represent the child," she said Leonard.
Meanwhile, more than 1100 people have signed a petition to keep the Bible verse on the bench in memory of Osborne.
