10/12/2026
This is a follow-up to my previous post. Although I repeated multiple times in yesterday's post that it had nothing to do with Kasian's right to practice the religion of his choice, there were still some folks out there who opted to ignore the more egregious issue of blurring the boundaries between church and state, and personal belief and professional responsibility. Instead, they acted as if I had come for their clutched pearls. That's neither the point I was making nor what I advocate for, as I believe the First Amendment applies equally to all people. And that right there is the key โ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ.
A few weeks ago, I posted about the flags displayed at Baresville without any lights. I'll state again that this was a district/committee directive, and responsibility does not fall on Baresville or any of the other buildings in the same situation. However, for those who still don't believe flag etiquette applies here, the district's own Policy 807 states, โThe flag should be displayed from sunrise to sunset unless properly illuminated at night. Always use a clean and damage-free flag. Flags that are torn, frayed, or dirty should be destroyed in a dignified manner.โ This is a concrete example of the board's hypocritical "do as I say, not as I do" modus operandi. Apparently, following district policy is more important for some than for others.
So back to my current concern. In October 2025, CBS 21 reported that the South Western School Board was considering amendments to Policies 321 and 807 concerning political activities and displays. According to that reporting, then-board member Matthew Gelazela explained that the purpose of the proposed political activity restrictions was to keep school employees from attempting to alter students' political or social views and to preserve parents' role in teaching their children values and beliefs. The final revision of Policy 321, adopted in December 2025, created an extraordinarily broad set of restrictions on employee expression, raising serious questions about which ideas the district considers acceptable and who gets to make that determination. And let's be clear: ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐.
The email referenced in my previous post contained a quote from Proverbs, making the email overtly Christian. While not necessarily a First Amendment violation, it was certainly inappropriate in a professional communication from a public school principal to his faculty. If this were the only instance of Kasian introducing religious teachings into his professional role, one might be tempted to adopt the positions of some of the pearl-clutchers: he's just trying to be encouraging (which can be done without religion); those are good values, regardless (they are, and they don't belong exclusively to Christians); or you wouldn't complain if he had quoted another religion (yes, I absolutely would). The issue isn't which religion he referenced. It's the use of official school communications to introduce religious teachings into a workplace where he holds authority over others.
Which brings us to The Armor of God poster hanging in Kasian's office. The wording of Policy 321 states:
"Documentation, displays, and any other physical representation in the form of symbols, signs, flags, and the like that represent or promote political activity, may not be displayed or otherwise made available unless their use is specifically related to approved curricular instruction."
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ:
- The Armor of God poster is unquestionably a physical display.
- It is prominently visible in the principal's office, which is district property.
- Its content is explicitly Christian scripture.
- Its display in the principal's office does not appear to serve an approved curricular purpose.
- The principal's office is a place where official school business is conducted and where Kasian exercises authority over teachers, students, and families.
Policy 321 includes the following examples of political activity:
"Symbolic participation (such as actions that signal support, interest, or affiliation with a cause, movement, or idea without necessarily involving significant effort or tangible change)."
"Ideological advocacy (such as a social movement, advocacy campaign, or cause). Examples may include, but not be limited to: National R***e Association (NRA), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Jewish Committee (AJC), LGBTQIA+, Black Lives Matter (BLM), National Organization for Women (NOW), etc."
Now, the policy's broader definition of political activity refers to influencing the political system, public policy, or the selection of political leaders. Religious expression is not automatically political activity, and the First Amendment protects personal religious expression. But when the district specifically identifies symbolic participation and ideological advocacy as activities subject to restriction, it creates a legitimate question about how those standards are applied.
The policy explicitly identifies organizations and movements associated with LGBTQIA+ advocacy, Black Lives Matter, and other social causes as examples of ideological advocacy. So where does the district draw the line? If displaying symbols associated with those movements can constitute prohibited advocacy, what distinguishes them from a prominently displayed religious message expressing allegiance to a particular belief system?
Can Kasian โ whose job includes setting the tone for the entire building โ explain why his display is permissible under a policy that places such broad restrictions on other expressions of personal belief?
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ!
I've worked with many teachers and administrators who had biblical passages in their rooms about kindness, compassion, or treating others with respect. Ephesians 6:10โ18, commonly known as The Armor of God, is something quite different. It describes Christian faith through the imagery of warfare: armor, shields, flaming arrows, a sword, and a struggle against the forces of darkness and evil. While Christians generally interpret this as a metaphor for spiritual rather than physical combat, its language is undeniably militaristic.
That distinction matters, but so does the setting. Not everyone who enters Kasian's office is Christian, and the prominent display of a passage depicting faith as a battle against evil carries a different significance in a public school administrator's office than it would in a church or private home. When a principal chooses to display such a passage in a workplace serving people of many religious beliefs, or none at all, it is reasonable to question what message that choice communicates.
And that brings us right back to the point so many people seemed determined to miss in my previous post. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ. ๐๐'๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ.
The First Amendment protects Kasian's right to his religious beliefs, just as it protects the rights of teachers, students, and families who believe differently. The district has chosen to adopt a policy restricting certain forms of ideological expression by its employees. If that policy is broad enough to restrict displays associated with social and political movements, the board should be prepared to explain how it applies to religious displays as well โ and what constitutional distinctions, if any, justify treating them differently.
A principal should not be held to a lesser standard than the teachers he supervises, and a school board should not expect employees to follow rules it cannot consistently explain or enforce.
๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐น๐, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐. ๐๐ณ ๐ถ๐'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐ถ๐๐ป'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ. ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ ๐ถ๐'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ โ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐.
**Disclosure - I used AI to keep my words bolded (I don't know how to code it in FB) and to clean up the image, as it wasn't legible before.
