Usually, discrimination against Christians is subtle and discreet. But the Ferndale Public Schools in Oakland County, Michigan, seems to be quite open about their bias. As Michigan Capitol Confidential discovered, the teachers union contract requires the district to provide “special consideration” to “those of the non-Christian faith” in hiring decisions:
The contract ran from 2011 to 2012 but was extended to 2017. The teachers belong to the Ferndale Education Association, a division of the Michigan Education Association.
Regarding promotion to a vacant position, it states on page 22:
Should there be two (2) or more of these applicants with equal qualifications for the position and one (1) or more of these applicants with equal qualifications is a current employee, the current employee with the greatest seniority shall be assigned. Special consideration shall be given to women and/or minority defined as: Native American, Asian American, Latino, African American and those of the non-Christian faith. However, in all appointments to vacant positions, the Board’s decision shall be final.
Earlier in the contract is a “no discrimination clause” that states no employee can be discriminated against based on their religion.
Why would the issue of someone’s religious background come up in hiring for a public school position? As Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, says, “Now, they are going to ask people, ‘Are you a Christian?’ ” Thompson said. “Are people going to hide their faith so they can get a promotion? There is a subtle persecution [here] of Christians.”
UPDATE: According to the Christian Post, the district is going to remove that language. “I have no idea how that ever got in there, and nobody here does,” Shelley Rose, interim director of communications at Ferndale Public Schools, told The Christian Post in an interview on Wednesday. “We just heard back from legal counsel this morning,” Rose told CP, adding that “there will be new contracts and that language will not be in the new contracts.”
