Opinion ID: 1147963
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: History of Present Controversy.

Text: A showdown finally came between irate school patrons, some of whom are plaintiffs in this case, and the school authorities over the teaching of religion in the Dixon schools, a rural community where the Roman Catholics and Protestants are about evenly divided. Public school had been held in that district for many years in Church property with Religious as teachers. The Protestants objected to the holding of public school in Roman Catholic owned buildings where Sisters taught the regular curriculum and in addition taught sectarian religion, but were advised by the County Board of Education that funds were not available to erect a public school building. The Protestants then donated money and labor, erected a school building, gave it to the county and asked that it be opened and staffed with lay teachers. This request was denied and the new school was placed under a Sister as principal and the teaching of sectarian religion continued. Later a committee of Protestants appeared before the County Board of Education and demanded, among other things, that it stop the teaching of sectarian religion in the Dixon schools. The Board held it did not have jurisdiction and declined to act, referring the protestors to the State Board of Education. They then appeared before the State Board and were told it was an appellate board and as it had no written appeal it could do nothing. The committee offered to make a tender of proof in support of their protests but the offer was summarily denied following an objection by an attorney who later represented the Religious at the trial of this case. The meeting evidently waxed warm and for the first time the members of the State Board became exercised over the matter. After the protestors had been dismissed and the Board had been in practically closed session for a time the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, who was also a member ex-officio of the State Board, called on the Archbishop of the Diocese of Santa Fe, the Very Reverend Edwin V. Byrne, and solicited his help. Another meeting of the Board was held and finally the directive relative to the operation of the school at Dixon was adopted, the material portion of which is as follows: In an earnest effort to solve the community school problems of Dixon, the State Board of Education recommends and insists that the following plan be carried out: 1. That the new school recently completed at Dixon teach the first six grades, including the pre-first. 2. That this new school have all qualified lay teachers, with a lay principal. 3. That the public school, taught by Catholic Sisters, teach the 7-12 grades. 4. That school buses bringing children to Dixon run on a schedule that would bring the children to school in time, but not necessarily earlier. 5. That no religious instruction be given in either school by the teachers on school days.    (Minutes of the State Board of Education, September 15, 1947.) The Archbishop directed a letter to all Religious teaching within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which, omitting formal parts, reads as follows: In view of the present agitation against Sisters in Public Schools and to avert grave future difficulties that could prove disastrous to the continuation of Sisters in public schools in the State of New Mexico, I request that no religious instructions be given in public school buildings by the teachers on school days. Catechism should be taught on Saturdays and Sundays. School buses bringing children to school will run on a schedule that will bring the children to school in time, but not necessarily earlier, and will leave immediately after school. A special letter accompanied the copy of the foregoing letter sent to the Religious at Dixon in which the Archbishop advised the Religious to remove all religious emblems from public school rooms, forbidding the saying of prayers or giving of religious instruction in the school on school days, and further stating that if any Sister did not obey these orders, her removal from the Dixon school would be effected. The Archdiocesan Superintendent of Roman Catholic School in the Diocese of Santa Fe, Monsignor Bradley, accompanied two representatives of the Department of Education to Dixon to put the directives into effect. School was being held in the public school building and in the church property rented by the county. At that time the teachers in the church property were Sisters and those in the public school were lay teachers. Monsignor Bradley delivered the orders to the Sisters and then the representatives of the Department of Education gave the orders of the State Board to the lay teachers at the public school. The directives did not at that time effectively stop the teaching of sectarian religion. The State Board of Education did not give any orders to any other schools. Thus it is apparent that it is the Archbishop to whom the people of New Mexico are indebted for the cessation of sectarian religious training in public schools where members of Roman Catholic Orders taught, and not the public officials charged with such duty. Note the language of his directive quoted supra. He not only directed that the teaching of religion be stopped on school days, but also directed a change in the arrival and departure times of the school buses.