ASHLAND — Three parents of children who attend Ashland City Schools spoke against religious teachings in school at the Ashland City School Board meeting on Monday evening.
“Regardless of how I feel about the specific morality and ethical substance of LifeWise’s lesson plans, others and I are very concerned about the overall encroachment of religion into our public school system,” Alexandra Emmons said during public comment time.
Emmons made clear the points she brought up were not in regard to the teachings through LifeWise Academy, which is a private organization that offers optional “Bible-based character education.”
The program requires parent approval for students to be excused from public school for a period of time to attend private religious instruction.
Instead, Emmons said she feels that school staff are promoting LifeWise Academy, which she said is concerning.
“Others and I worry that voicing our true feelings about this matter will impact our innocent children when we are not there to defend them,” Emmons said. “Will our families be shunned by society? Will our jobs be in jeopardy for speaking our truth?
“These are all possible consequences for coming forward.”
Erin Rice, who has children attending Ashland City Schools, said she is relatively new to the area. She asked the board to imagine being the new kid in school and how a new kid might feel”othered” if they are not from a Christian background.
“I don’t think it’s right to see these messages in my kids’ classrooms,” Rice said. “It feels really uncomfortable to say, to say that I don’t think it’s right to have a Christian rock band celebrating music at the end of a celebration, that feels really uncomfortable to say.”
Both Emmons and Rice brought up an event that occurred May 9, 2025. There was a school-wide assembly that included a band from a local church playing religious songs, they said.
Emmons said The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an organization committed to the separation of church and state, contacted Supt. Steve Paramore about violations of the establishment clause in July and December of 2024.
Emmons provided a packet of emails from The Freedom From Religion Foundation notifying Paramore about those violations for board members.
Paramore said one of those incidents, which involved a lesson from Taft Intermediate School fifth grade teacher Travis Beck, was resolved.
The email said Beck “assigned students homework that required them to interpret historical timelines, which included religious events that are part of religious scripture, not historical facts.”
Another email alleged that Paramore suggested that there should be “a mandatory time in a school day to celebrate God’s love of his people and our duty to serve our neighbors.”
“I’ve never made any statement to anybody or written anything other than if you’d like to attend LifeWise, it has to be through parent permission,” Paramore said.
School Board President Jonathan Teevan told Rice and Emmons he would follow up with them this week to talk more about their concerns.
