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Forced out or denied tenure? Challenger teacher won't return

Students, parents stand up for teacher amid complaints

COMPLAINT DETAILS

Sept. 5

The complaint stated Bonham “engaged in religious proselytizing and has otherwise unconstitutionally endorsed religion in his English classes.” The complaint takes issue with in-class discussions that include Christianity, morals and religious positions on issues such as abortion.

“During these speeches, Mr. Bonham opens a cupboard to display a Bible and postings of biblical passages, including the Ten Commandments,” the complaint states.

Bonham admits to having the Bible and the Ten Commandments in his classroom, but not to preaching to the students.

“I had the Bible in a cabinet, along with a lot of other reference and resource books,” he said.

The Ten Commandments were posted inside a closet. After the complaint was made, Bonham said he removed both items from his classroom.

And although he said the class does speak about Christianity and other controversial topics like abortion, Bonham said it is to get his students to think, and see both sides of an issue.

Oct. 22

The Americans United for Separation of Church and State stated Bonham gave a 20-minute lesson on the Book of Ruth, as well as a lecture on Moses. The letter also stated Bonham “keeps a small figurine of Jesus that he produces during class.”

The organization asked the school system to monitor Bonham, and to appraise the organization of the additional steps it would take to ensure Bonham complied with constitutional requirements for the separation of church and state.

Bonham said he found the mention of the Jesus figurine most surprising.

“I teach epics, and I have a figure of Obi Wan Kenobi from ‘Star Wars’ that sits on my cabinet, because ‘Star Wars’ is a good example of an epic,” he said.

Bonham said he did mention the Book of Ruth briefly, as well as Moses, but only because it pertained to literature the class was reading. In “Ozymandius,” by Percy Bysshe Shelly, the story is believed to be about Ramses II, which most people don’t remember, except for his slave, Moses.

Similarly, Bonham was teaching about “A Black Man Talks of Reaping.” The book talks of gleaning, and there was a footnote about the Book of Ruth. He spoke about it to the class, to ensure they understood it, he said.

June 4

The last complaint mentioned an audio recording made March 27. The recording, which was posted on YouTube.com and has since been removed, also contained still images with words and phrases that had been Photoshopped, said Ian Smith, a staff attorney with Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The recording is Bonham discussing evolution, telling them “science teachers and textbooks are lying to them because if they told the ‘truth’ about evolution, then the students might not believe in it. ... Bonham promotes a wholly creationist, religious view to his students, and exhorts them to challenge their science teachers with that view when they are taught evolution in their science classes,” the complaint states.

It goes on to say the school system bears the legal responsibility for permitting Bonham’s actions, which violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“Because of the serious nature of the offenses and the repeated warnings that we have provided but you have thus far ignored, we will expect, within the next fifteen days, to receive your response describing the steps that you have taken to address the issues that we have raised, and to ensure that neither Bonham nor any other District employee repeats them in the future,” the complaint concludes.

Bonham saw the clip on YouTube before it was pulled. He doesn’t deny that it is his voice on the recording, but said there is a reason behind it.

“It showed quotes from evolutionists, who were showing doubts in their theories,” he said. “It was edited, with parts taken out.”

The evolution discussion was another of the controversial topics Bonham talked about in his class.

By Sarah Newell Williamson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: June 24, 2009

HICKORY - Paul Bonham says he was forced to resign. Catawba County Schools says he wasn't extended tenure. The only thing his students know is that he won't be at Catawba Valley Early College High School next year.

Bonham has taught English I at the high school, also known as Challenger, since the school opened four years ago.

Bonham's fourth year with Challenger was different from his previous three, though. On Sept. 5, just nine school days into the year, a complaint was lodged against Bonham with Timothy Markley, superintendent of Catawba County Schools, and Eddy Daniel, principal of Challenger.

Filed on behalf of a student by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the complaint stated Bonham "engaged in religious proselytizing and has otherwise unconstitutionally endorsed religion in his English classes." The complaint takes issue with in-class discussions that include Christianity, morals and religious positions on issues such as abortion.

Although Bonham said his classes do speak about Christianity and other controversial topics like abortion, he said his purpose is to get his students to think and see both sides of an issue.

"I don't believe you can engage your students if the controversy you're discussing is the dress code," he said. "When kids get engaged, their brains grow."

A second complaint, made on Oct. 22, mentioned additional religious proselytizing by Bonham. It also mentioned a Jesus figurine Bonham kept in his classroom. Bonham said the figurine is, in fact, a small Obi Wan Kenobi figurine.

"I teach epics, and I have a figure of Obi Wan Kenobi from 'Star Wars' that sits on my cabinet, because 'Star Wars' is a good example of an epic," he said.

The figurine is small, wears a robe and utility belt and has a brown beard.

The final complaint came June 4. It mentioned an audio recording made March 27. The recording, which was posted on YouTube.com and has since been removed, also contained still images with words and phrases that had been Photoshopped, said Ian Smith, a staff attorney with Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The recording is Bonham discussing evolution. Bonham saw the clip on YouTube before it was pulled, and said it was edited.

At Monday's Catawba County Schools' board meeting, about 20 of Bonham's current or former students and their parents spoke on his behalf. The students said the discussions were one of the things they loved best about his class.

Former student Sarah Wike said Bonham was her favorite teacher.

"He's the only teacher that forces us to speak our minds and not be afraid," she said. "Mr. Bonham gave me the courage to go out and do things. He truly prepared us for college."

Rising sophomore Samuel Ball said he'd heard tales that Bonham's class was difficult, and he didn't care for the class.

"I didn't like it. There were a lot of things he said that I didn't agree with, but I saw what he was doing," he said. "The title of the class is English I College Prep. He's preparing us for college. He invites us to argue with him, to think about what we believe in, not just to go with it. He never told us to agree with what he said."

Rising senior Chris Eaton said the debates he had in Bonham's class helped better prepare him for college-level classes at Catawba Valley Community College.

"Although he did teach English, we had to learn more about ourselves. Because of his teachings, it helped me write the 'big papers,' in my four other college classes," Eaton said. "It would be a shame if the next freshman class is not taught by him."

Parent Kim Cruz said she isn't concerned about Bonham not getting another job with another district. She's concerned other students in this district will not get to experience Bonham as a teacher in the future.

Although Bonham was eligible for tenure this year, Catawba County Schools did not extend it, despite his students having an exceptionally high pass rate on end-of-course exams. Denial of tenure is the equivalent of the death knell to a career with the school system.

"After four years, you can be considered for tenure. This was his fourth year," said Crystal Davis, attorney for Catawba County Schools. "The school system takes the recommendation from the principal. Dr. Daniel did recommend him. They also take the recommendation from the superintendent. Dr. Markley did not. We did not grant him tenure."

Davis said tenure was not offered to Bonham and declined to say if the complaints had any bearing on that decision.

North Carolina statutes state that if a teacher has been with a school system for four consecutive years, and the school board votes not to offer tenure, the teacher cannot remain with the school system for a fifth year.

Bonham has a different take on the situation.

"They indicated if you were terminated, it would have an adverse effect on my teaching license," he said. "It (resignation) wasn't really voluntary."

Smith said when the complaint was filed by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ideal resolution would have been for Bonham to stop religious discussions and remove all religious objects.

Smith said he never spoke with Bonham, despite filing three separate complaints. He did speak with Davis, Catawba County Schools' attorney. Smith said he is satisfied the system took the complaint seriously.

Davis said the school system always investigates a complaint made against someone, whether it's made by a citizen or an organization in Washington.

Bonham said he holds no ill-will against Markley, and has nothing but respect for him and Daniel.
However, he compares what happened to him to the situation in "The Crucible," in which a person was falsely accused of witchcraft by one of the girls in the village.

"If a teacher can be let go with the scores that I've been fortunate enough to garner, and it doesn't take more than a few complaint letters, well, teachers have become targets," Bonham said. "I've talked to a lot of folks, and a lot of them in a lot of different positions are scared to talk and teach on topics now."