North Dakota district no longer reciting pledge at meetings

By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The school board in North Dakota’s largest city decided to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings. That’s prompted a Republican lawmaker to vow to push for a voucher program that would allow public money to pay for private school tuition. The Fargo School Board voted 7-2 Wednesday to halt the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, saying it doesn’t align with the district’s diversity code, largely because it says “under God” in one phrase. The state Republican Party called the board’s action “laughable” and an “affront to our American values.” Grand Forks state Sen. Scott Meyer said he would begin working on a school voucher bill draft next week.