High school principal bans Pledge of Allegiance, cites government shutdown

A Principal in Nebraska informed students at Alliance High School that they would not be allowed to recite the Pledge of Allegiance due to the federal government being partially shut down , outraging students and parents alike.

The JournalStar reports that on Oct. 7, Alliance High School Principal Pat Jones told students they wouldn't be reciting the pledge that day, pointing out that the federal government has been partially shut down since Oct. 1.

Some students were outraged by the decision, and one woman said her son stood up in class and recited the pledge anyway.



The school in the Nebraska Panhandle city of about 8,500 has about 500 students.

On Monday, Jones declined to comment and referred questions to the district superintendent, Troy Unzicker.

Unzicker said Jones hadn't cleared his plan with administrators beforehand, but Unzicker said he soon heard about it after school board members started getting calls and emails from parents. Near as he knew, Unzicker said, all the calls were critical of Jones.

"There were some positive aspects that came out of it, but (skipping the pledge) is not something we will do again," Unzicker said.