The Carroll ISD school board on Monday declined to accept several designs of “In God We Trust” signs — one written in Arabic and others featuring colors of the transgender pride flag and LGBTQ flag.
The district previously accepted “In God We Trust” signs from a Christian conservative cellphone company after Texas lawmakers passed a law in 2021 that required schools, if privately donated, to display posters of the national motto.
However, the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition, a student-led initiative, said the donations were a “blatant intrusion of religion in what should be a secular public institution,” and in response designed an array of alternate posters.
Sravan Krishna, a Southlake parent attempted to donate the signs during Monday’s school board meeting but his donation was declined.
The school board cited it had no obligation to accept these donations of signs because it already had enough “In God We Trust” signs in its schools.
“All 11 campuses, plus the admin building, now have the poster pursuant to SB 797,” Cam Bryant, the board president, said. “The statute does not contemplate requiring the district to display more than one copy at a time. Instead, the statue requires a durable poster or framed copy which limits displays to one poster or framed copy in an effort not to overwhelm schools with donations.”
The law does not require a specific font or language, and it does not put a limit on the number of signs that can be displayed.
“It doesn’t say you have to stop at one,” Krishna said. “That is your decision to stop at one. Why is more God not good? Are you saying you don’t have one square feet of space in our buildings.”
Krishna said the school boards’ rejection of students’ efforts to “celebrate this in a different way by including other people as well,” was, “very disappointing — not unsurprising, but disappointing.”
Photo: Dr. James Whitfield – Twitter
