By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

DeKALB COUNTY, Ala. — Last week, a letter was sent to DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jason Barnett with a complaint regarding the Fyffe High School "Back to School Worship Service."

According to the school's Facebook page, the service is scheduled for Sunday, August 4 at 6pm in the school's gym. The page asks participants to "join us in praying for God's protective hand to be over our schools, facilities, and students."

The organization, Freedom From Religion Foundation, says they were alerted to the event by a concerned DeKalb County Schools parent.

An attorney for the organization stated, “DeKalb County Schools should be particularly mindful of ostracizing non-Christians, given that over 47 percent of young Americans are non-Christian, either practicing a minority religion or no religion at all. Parents, not district administrators, have the right to dictate the religious or nonreligious upbringing of their children.”

A full copy of the letter can be found at the end of this post.

Dr. Barnett stated that he would release a statement in the coming days, following review by an attorney for DeKalb County Schools.

UPDATED: The DeKalb County Board of Education released the following statement regarding this situation.

"Some community leaders submitted a written request to hold an event in the Fyffe campus gymnasium. 

The event was approved in a manner consistent with requests made in the past by other organizations.

To my knowledge, there are no administrators or faculty members involved in the organization and planning of the event.

The Board is not promoting this event, but rather has permitted an announcement of the event on the school Facebook page just as it permits others to provide information about community events.  The “us” in the Facebook announcement refers to the organizers of the event, not the school or the school board.

There are no plans to alter the approval that was granted for usage of the Fyffe gymnasium."