The school district has received so many threats that officials have had to up security around the county.
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“While this is not necessarily an attack on the American flag, there were some other issues we’re trying to address”, Steve Sorrells, Dickinson County director of student services, said.
The district created the ban in the midst of the Confederate flag controversy that is now going on across the country. “It’s freedom of expression and I don’t think you should be able to take that away from us”, student Arianna Heisler said. The Flag is prominently displayed at every school in our county. School administrators then asked all students to refrain from flying flags in the student parking lot, Weeks said.
On Sunday, August 23, a number of news sources including the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Fox News reported that the Dickson County school district had banned all flags, including the American, from being flown at their schools. “We’ve filed several police reports and actually hired additional security in our school and school system just for the next few days until this kind of settles down some”, said Weeks. “We are teaching the appropriate use of flags and how to respect it”. “Our policy is about protecting an instructional learning environment”, Weeks said.
Though he thinks the flag situation “was handled a little different” than how it should have been, School Board Member Phil Buckner said he agrees with school officials’ decision.
“If you want to fly a Confederate flag, if you want to fly a rainbow flag, fly a rainbow flag, whatever you want”. “That could cause problems”.
There have been reports the school system has banned the flags all together, but that’s simply not true.
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Weeks said he believes the media unfairly targeted the school district and attempted to stir up the issue without telling the whole story. “If these folks from outside would leave us alone, we would be better off”. Our policy is not about flags. Still, Buckner anticipates a crowd for the board’s Thursday night meeting wanting to speak their mind – though it’s not on the agenda.
