Trustees vote for Bible-based curriculum in Richmond County

AUGUSTA - Beginning in January, students at Barton Chapel Elementary School in Richmond County will have the option of studying the Bible for one hour a week. <br> <br> After years of controversy and debate, the Richmond County School Board voted Thursday to adopt the nondenominational Bible-based curriculum. <br> <br> The Released Time pilot program will allow fourth- and fifth-grade pupils to leave campus with parental permission and walk next door to Broadway Baptist Church to study a Christian curriculum for one hour a week. <br> <br> ``We are so excited and thrilled,&#39;&#39; said Jane Dennis, the chairwoman of Christian Learning Centers of Augusta. <br> <br> Pupils who do not participate in the program will remain in class. <br> <br> The program, which is free and independent of any school system, has been at the root of controversy and debate for many years in Richmond County. <br> <br> Several school board members and officials voiced their concern over the program. <br> <br> At the school board meeting, trustee John Seitz, moved to table the issue until more information is received and the public is given an opportunity to speak out at the next board meeting, reported The Augusta Chronicle on Sunday. Seitz&#39;s motion was defeated, but the final approval of the program lies on the legalities of liability insurance. <br> <br> The Christian Learning Centers of Augusta has said it will provide liability insurance for pupils off campus. <br> <br> Over the next couple of months, school officials at Barton will provide parents with information about the program. Organizers are pointing to examples of schools in Aiken, S.C. that have the program. <br> <br> About 200 pupils in third-, fourth- and fifth grade at Johnston Elementary School in Edgefield County participate in a similar program. Principal Bridget Clark said she has had no problems with the program since it began at her school in 1998.