The Battle of Jericho

Montgomery's school board makes the wrong choice on a graduation ceremony in a church.

GRADUATION ceremonies for Montgomery Blair High School's Class of 2007 will afford students one more lesson in life. Too bad it's one of convenience trumping principle. That's the only message to be drawn from the capitulation by the school board to allow the use of a church for the ceremonies.

Members of the board, after impassioned lobbying by parents and students, overruled a decision by Superintendent Jerry D. Weast that prevented use of the Jericho City of Praise church in Landover. Mr. Weast's decision, although unpopular, was right. The reversal exposes the system to a possible lawsuit by groups who see use of the church as violating the constitutional separation of church and state. Indeed, it was the threat of such a lawsuit that prompted the ban in the first place. More important, though, are the feelings of parents and students who might be offended by having to celebrate an important moment in such a venue. No matter how small the number of those discomfited by walking into a building that proclaims "Jesus Is The Lord!!!" the rights of the minority must be taken into account.

We are sympathetic to the Blair community's problem. Its large student body makes most other venues unsuitable, and the Show Place Arena and Equestrian Center in Prince George's County is not ideal. Then, too, with its large number of low-income families, Blair can't match the ability of other schools to raise money to rent better facilities.

Montgomery County must do a better job of providing a proper setting for all its students -- and their families -- to celebrate graduation. We wonder, for instance, why Blair is given the same amount of money to conduct its ceremony as much smaller schools. Or why Prince George's County is able to accommodate its large high schools. Although the board shouldn't have allowed the use of Jericho, it wisely decided to conduct a full review of its policy on graduations.