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Residents and clergy urge Everett School Board to rescind release-time religious instruction amid Lifewise controversy
Summary
Multiple parents, teachers and local clergy told the Everett School Board during public comment that Lifewise Academy’s pull‑out religious classes create division, anxiety and unbalanced access; speakers urged rescinding the district’s release‑time for religious instruction (RTRI) policy.
Everett — Parents, retired teachers and clergy urged the Everett Public Schools Board of Directors on June 10 to rescind the district’s release‑time for religious instruction policy and to halt Lifewise Academy’s pull‑out classes during the school day.
“Their method seems to be an opportunistic 1. Their mission is akin to the metaphor of the camel coming into the tent,” said Kathleen Bergler, a North Everett resident, during the public‑comment period, criticizing Lifewise for what she described as incremental expansion into schools. “Separation of church and state however, is not a suggestion. Is it's a foundational imperative,” Bergler added.
The speakers said Lifewise runs organized, in‑school pickups that remove children from class time for…
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