Kohls first proposed the course in 2013 when she was president of the school board, but it had to be moved off school grounds after the ACLU of Ohio objected. Some school board members at the time also discussed adding creationism to the class curriculum.
This time, Kohls, a local Tea Party leader and GOP official who is no longer on the board, sought to rent school space for the class and her request was backed by both the ACLU and residents who opposed the board plan in 2013.
With Kohls no longer on the board, the staff attorney for ACLU of Ohio said he would consider representing her if the request was denied by the board.
“The board can’t deny her access just to suppress her point of view,” ACLU of Ohio Staff Attorney Drew Dennis said. “Now she’s a private citizen.”
Kohls’ request to use the school factilities was initially placed on Thursday’s school board meeting agenda for consideration by the board. But it was pulled off the agneda after Kohls submitted the request on behalf of the Warren County Republican Party.
Because she was seeking the school access as a representative of an organization, which is a common, the request to use school facilities could be handled administratively and did not require board approval. The district’s business manager, John Pennell, tentatively approved it Thursday.
As a result of Kohls’ submission, Pennell said the request would be granted provided the space was available and Kohls paid the $240 fee.
“We’ll go through the motions and make sure things are done properly,” Pennell said.
The course is to be offered on 12 Saturdays, beginning in April. An instructor from the Institute for the Constitution, a conservative organization based in Maryland, is to lead the classes and provide curriculum.
Kohls said criticism of her 2013 efforts to bring the class to Springboro amounted to bullying by opponents of the board at the time.
“You can’t pay attention to bullies that are going to bully you and not do something so important,” Kohls said.
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