A committee recommended on Tuesday that a Ten Commandments plaque previously located at Marion Harding High School be on display at Diverse Moves Dance Studio.
The committee, which included faith-based leaders, Harding students, community leaders, a student’s parent, a student’s grandparent, Marion City Schools Superintendent Gary Barber and school board member Ted McKinniss, met for more than two hours at Harding on Tuesday.
The committee has agreed to recommend that the Marion County Historical Society be named the permanent caretaker of the Ten Commandments plaque with conditional placement at Diverse Moves, a Christian-based dance studio owned by Quiana Revere. Many area students attend Diverse Moves.
Both Revere and Gale Martin, the director of the historical society, agreed to the arrangement on Wednesday. They were both present at the meeting Tuesday, but could not attend the entire meeting.
“Diverse Moves Dance Studio feels that it is a privilege and honor to display the Ten Commandments plaque on their wall for generations to come,” Revere said on Wednesday. She praised the Ten Commandments’ values and morals.
School officials said they appreciated working with a diverse group of stakeholders to find a solution that will honor the gift from the Harding Class of 1956.
The plaque came down from the wall of a front hallway in August after officials said a community member complained to Harding Principal Kirk Koennecke regarding its location in a public school. Koennecke said he made his decision based on legal challenges around the country against schools displaying religious texts and symbols.
A majority of attendees at Tuesday’s meeting preferred that the plaque be placed back up at Harding. However, given the status of current law prohibiting the placement of religious symbols at schools, school officials said that members reached a consensus to recommend to the school that the plaque become the property of the historical society and be displayed at Diverse Moves.
It would be returned to the historical society if Diverse Moves was to close or move out of the area.
“We would like to thank all participants who expressed their views and helped us reach a consensus,” said Marion City Schools Director of Communications Kurt Moore. “We are pleased that we reached a consensus that will let students see this plaque on display in the community and enable the historical society to be caretaker.”
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