Controversy ensnares school’s Field of Honor

Creation of a Field Honor, a collection of U.S. flags to remember soldiers who died during wars that is typically installed for Memorial Day, was shrouded in controversy when it was claimed that an unsanctioned Lawrence Middle School Club was involved in collecting money for the flags as well as a school trip.

According to a letter written by Lawrence Teachers Association (LTA) President Lori Skonberg, a teacher at the middle school was in the process of creating the Field of Honor as he received the go-ahead from middle school Principal Willis Perry, fliers promoting it were made, flag poles had been purchased and flags were ready to be placed on those poles when Superintendent Gary Schall told the teacher he couldn’t move forward with the project as it was not approved by the Board of Education. At Monday’s board meeting, Skonberg identified the teacher as Arn Johnson, who teaches physical education.

“On [May 27] it was discovered that the teacher involved with the Field of Honor misrepresented the club, putting the district in a position where we had to investigate the funds used for acquiring the flags and how the profits were being utilized,” Schall said. “The district was told that proceeds were going to a 9/11 fund when actually a portion of the funds were designated to help fund a school trip. As a result we could not use the flags he purchased. The Board of Education put up a Field of Honor instead.”

Schall said that every school club is approved by the LTA and board, and monitored by district administration to ensure the funds are not used improperly.
Skonberg told the Herald that it was not an unsanctioned club, but what was called the Young Patriots Club is part of the middle school’s student government.

“On April 21 we were told no on a Field of Honor,” Skonberg said, “I asked Gary if the neighbors said yes could we have it. The neighbors said they were fine with it.” On May 25, at a district town hall meeting the district was informed the neighbors were OK with the Field of Honor. “Gary owes us an apology,” Skonberg said.

Subsequently, a group of men led by Inwood native Chris Blaise, who now lives in Brooklyn, according to his Facebook page, and said he attended junior high school in the middle school building, claimed responsibility for organizing the initial Field of Honor by “first shopping for the flags for hours and then buying them with my own money,” as is written on his Facebook page. Blaise is not listed as a teacher at Lawrence Middle School. He wrote he asked “as many people as I could to participate.”

The flags on the school’s front lawn are a combination of the flags Blaise purchased as well as ones the school district installed, along with its electronic sign display that showed silhouetted images of soldiers. Schall said the as all the flags will remain up through June 14, Flag Day. The students went on the planned school fishing trip.