Letter to the Editor after I won the Lawsuit against Pennridge School District.

It is good to live in a nation that was set up to be governed under the laws of God. One of our greatest rights is the freedom to express what we believe in…a right our forefathers knew was worth fighting for, even worth dying for.

I thank this newspaper for believing in this God-given inalienable right. I even appreciate that this newspaper allows others to offer their lacerating words against me. I am not offended and have nothing to hide. I believe people will see the truth if we offer everyone the freedom to share. I am honored that there are people upset enough about what I stand for to write such letters; I would assume I was doing something wrong if no one opposed me. In the end, the truth will prevail.

I sued the Pennridge school board for its illegal policy. This policy demands that all materials that are handed from one student to another must be subject to prior review by the administrative office. A few months ago, the school settled the lawsuit and admitted that they did something wrong just days before our court date. They are in the process of paying me the $1 that I asked for and for my attorney’s fees. If they had won in court, I would in effect have had to pay their attorneys’ fees - a great risk I was willing to take from the beginning.

The Pennridge school board did not settle early to save money. If they could have won they would have fought in court, and if they fought and won I would be much poorer than I already am. Even after they admitted fault and allowed me to be the prevailing party in the suit, still they refused to change the illegal policy, telling the public that it ‘protects’ students. However most people realize that no high school student is going to go and ask the principal to prior review pornography or bomb-making directions before they hand them out in school, as absurdly stated in newspapers.

A school can have rules forbidding materials that contain libel, are vulgar, or are dangerous to its students. But the Pennridge policy allows an administrator the power to reject any speech that he subjectively feels is not beneficial to students, which in turn allows for religious and other forms of discrimination against free speech. Students may be disciplined if they violate specifically stated guidelines, but prior review is called prior restraint and has been illegal since our Constitution was put in effect.

High-schoolers are beginner adults and must be given these basic rights. This policy is not only illegal but it discriminates against whomever they want. If the school were going to actually follow their own policy they must shut down Valentine’s Day and prior review every note that is passed in the hall. The policy is not intended to protect anyone; it is simply designed to hush up student opinions through intimidation and stalling. My lawsuit involved my request to invite students to a board meeting. The prior review stalled the flyers until the board meeting had taken place.

The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization that came to my assistance, recommended a change in the review policy that would have made it constitutional, but the school board members’ hearts had been hardened and they refused to listen.

My attorney estimated that the school has spent well over $100,000 religiously defending its policy, between paying their attorneys and then - in the end - giving in and having to pay mine. Let me remind you: That was your tax dollars at work. (Someone needs to ask the school exactly how much of your money they spent on the case.)

Just the fact that the school board spent and lost such an outrageous amount of money and then did not even revise the policy, even after it was offered a constitutionally acceptable revision, reveals the incompetence of these elected officials. I certainly wouldn’t trust them with my money. By not fixing the policy, the school is vulnerable to being sued again, and next time it won’t be for a dollar.

It is unfortunate that it cost so much to prove so little, but it was my hope from the very beginning that on this agonizing two-year journey we would all learn two very valuable lessons. We must learn that power and authority do not give anyone the right to use intimidation and bullying, no matter how fiercely we disagree. We must learn that it is our responsibility while living in a free nation to stand for what is right no matter what the cost or the risk may be.

May we each remember that the price of our freedom was paid with blood.

I hope that this letter will inspire you to get out from behind the mind-numbing television and begin to change the world too. Please stand up for what you know is right and fight for our precious freedoms.