The Kern County Board of Education postponed a scheduled vote Thursday night on a resolution that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms at several county school sites.

After meeting in closed session for nearly an hour, board members announced that the item, listed as 5.2.1 on the agenda, had been pulled. 

Trustees said the proposal needs further research before it can move forward.

Five of the six trustees were present. Board President Mary Little was absent due to a sore throat, according to Trustee Joe Marcano.

During the closed session, community members who attended the meeting shared their concerns about the resolution.

Valentina Gutierrez, a local high school student, said the resolution fails to reflect the diversity of Kern County classrooms.

“I don’t want the Ten Commandments being implemented in our school education systems,” she said. “It’s critical that we leave religion out of this, as people come from various diverse backgrounds.”

Sarah John, an intern with the ACLU of Southern California’s Bakersfield office, said the resolution raises both constitutional and moral concerns.

“There’s a lot of case law that shows how fundamentally unconstitutional this is,” John said. “Aside from the legal justifications, we live in a country that promises equality for everybody. It seems silly to argue that we can embrace all cultures while saying one religion is the most important and the most American.”

A day before the meeting, the ACLU of Southern California, the national ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the trustees asking them to reject the resolution.

The letter stated that requiring the Ten Commandments in classrooms “would violate the Religion Clauses of the California Constitution and expose the Board to litigation and significant amounts of attorneys’ fees,” added that California’s constitutional protections for religious neutrality are “more comprehensive than those of the federal Constitution, particularly in the area of involvement of religion in schools.”

Carter Beardsley, president of the Runners Democrats at CSU Bakersfield, said the board should focus on student needs rather than political statements.

“There have been several resolutions brought before this board that do nothing to help the lives of the students,” Beardsley said. “This board serves about 500 students at alternative sites, and there are real issues like literacy, mathematics, and chronic absenteeism that aren’t being addressed.”

Beardsley said the Ten Commandments proposal could also marginalize students who are not Christian. 

“We have so many different cultures across Kern County, and that’s what makes us so beautiful,” he said. “To ostracize anyone for not fitting into this box is just wrong.”

During public comment, Gabriel Garcia of the Dolores Huerta Foundation questioned why the proposal was being introduced in Kern County and why the county is being used as a testing ground for an outside political agenda.

“So it’s strange they are choosing Kern County to do this. We know Kern County is the most conservative in California, and we know that California makes headlines. I think they think we’re an easy place, that we’re vulnerable, and they don’t know that we’re strong and diverse.”

He also mentioned the county’s Sikh, Punjabi, Korean, Muslim, Jewish, Indigenous, and multi-denominational Christian communities, and said, “Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths.”

It is unclear when the resolution may return to the agenda. When asked, trustee Marcano said, “It will be on the agenda perhaps in the future.”

Despite postponing the vote, some trustees expressed support for the proposal.

Trustee James Robinson said he supports the resolution and criticized opposition from organizations like the ACLU.

“I don’t understand the animosity. I wish they would go ahead and get their facts straight,” Robinson said.

Trustee Lori Eskew also defended the consideration of the documents.

“I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that the Ten Commandments say don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t murder, and you guys don’t want these historical documents anywhere,” she said.

According to the draft resolution, the Ten Commandments would be posted at six school sites overseen by the board: Community Learning Center, CLC Tech, East Kern Community School, Lake Isabella Community School, North Kern Community School, and West Kern Community School.

Protesters chant “No Ten Commandments” during a Kern County Board of Education meeting Nov. 13 in Bakersfield, opposing a proposed resolution to display the Ten Commandments in county schools.