A follow up to a story I linked a couple of days ago:

Our View: Kiel School Board took high road

The Kiel School Board chose the reasonable course last week in declining to change its method of teaching about the origins of human life.

District resident Patty Kubetz wants the school district to include in freshman science classes a statement she crafted, explaining that evolution is but one theory of how we came to be.

The relative merits of evolution, creationism, intelligent design and other theories [gahhh] about life’s origins have been topics of heated debate for centuries. All have their adherents and all have their detractors.

It is encouraging that the Kiel School Board accepted Kubetz’s request for discussion of the topic. It could have skirted a difficult topic by issuing her a “thanks, but no thanks” letter, or cited the fact that she’s married to School Board member Randy Kubetz as a potential conflict of interest.

The board instead took the high road, listened to an hour of spirited discussion and decided to keep things just as they are.

That may not sit well with people — and there are many — who’d like to see public schools weaned off the diet that feeds only evolution. They would settle for students being offered even a sampling of other offerings. Patty Kubetz calls it a matter of “balance.”

Those who believe in creationism or intelligent design should not view the board’s decision as a defeat, however. Closer analysis of the discussion that preceded it shows that at least one Kiel science teacher leaves the door open to students to talk about alternatives to evolution.

A former student agreed, saying there was ample opportunity given to discuss evolution and its alternative theories.

Kubetz insists she did not seek to change the Kiel curriculum by replacing evolution with creationism. She wouldn’t mind if that happened, but only wanted a short statement read to freshmen students about potential alternatives to evolution.

Kubetz has probably achieved her aim by raising the issue in a professional manner that produced a public airing. High school students are curious about many things, particularly what some would consider esoteric topics like where we came from.

Students in Kiel have heard about the “flap” before the School Board and likely now are engaged in discussing the topic, exactly the awareness Kubetz hoped to create.

For its part, the School Board did the right thing. Overturning this apple cart could bring costly legal challenges from groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which no school district needs in a time of tight budgets.

We applaud all involved in this situation for raising awareness of the issue while keeping in mind the best interests of those living within the school district.

So, the school board made the right decision because otherwise the district would find itself in a costly legal battle, eh?

Again I say… gahhh.