North Dakota school board claims Pledge of Allegiance is 'non-inclusionary' act
Fargo parents Allie Ollenburger and Jake Schmitz discuss their school board's decision to axe the use of the Pledge of Allegiance in meetings
The board of education in Fargo, North Dakota angered some parents when it voted to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance at board meetings, only months after beginning the practice.
Vice President of the Fargo School Board Jake Schmitz told "Fox & Friends First" Friday that the proponents of the move claimed not all people in the United States receive liberty and justice.
"That is perpetuating critical race theory, which is against the law in North Dakota," he told host Griff Jenkins.
"The next logical step in the progression is [they'll] want to remove it from schools because it's a non-inclusionary act which is a bunch of crap," he said, calling the rhetoric at the meeting "moronic."
FARGO SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO STOP SAYING PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AT MEETINGS
The Fargo, North Dakota, board of education voted Tuesday to no longer recite the Pledge of Allegiance before board meetings, which they had been doing since March.
Thirty-two Southeast Michigan immigrants recite the "Pledge of Allegiance" as they are sworn in to become United States citizens during a naturalization ceremony prior to a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, June 29, 2017, in Detroit.
Seth Holden, board vice president, argued against saying the Pledge of Allegiance, saying it ran counter to the district's philosophy.
"Given that the word ‘God’ in the text of the Pledge of Allegiance is capitalized… the text is clearly referring to the Judeo-Christian God, and therefore, it does not include any other faiths such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism," Holden said, adding that this made the pledge of allegiance a "non-inclusionary act."
Beginning each meeting with a "non-inclusionary act," Holden argued, ran contrary to the diversity, equity and inclusion priorities of the school district.
Holden also argued there was text within the pledge of allegiance that is "simply not true."
"The statement that we are ‘one nation under God,’ is the Judeo-Christian God… is simply an untrue statement. We are one nation under many or no gods," Holden added, citing the practice of many religions in the U.S.
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Fargo mother Allie Ollenburger said the board of education is only concerned with "petty politics" more than doing their job of ensuring the education of our kids.
"Clearly, as a military veteran, listening to the disrespectful, disgusting monologue was heartbreaking," she said, expressing concern that students will be stopped from reciting the Pledge next.
The school district did not respond to the show's request for comment.
Fox News' Kelsey Koberg contributed to this report.
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