Texas school district that declined Obama speech will bus kids to see Bush

A Texas school district that declined to allow students to listen to President Obama's speech to students on Tuesday will bus about 500 students to attend a Super Bowl-related event this month where former president George W. Bush will speak, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Arlington school district spokeswoman Veronica Sopher tells the newspaper that the two events are different.

"The distinction is it’s a field trip that parents have to grant permission for students to attend," she says, according to the Star-Telegram

"With parental permission, the selected classes will attend a field trip at the Cowboys Stadium, where they will hear from several different speakers.

Dwight McKissic Sr., the senior pastor of Arlington's Cornerstone Baptist Church, said he's concerned about the district's decision to not broadcast Obama's message while transporting students to hear a message from Bush.

"I do not understand the duplicity in this situation," McKissic said in a news release, according to NBC. "I believe the students and the public deserve and need to have these differences explained."

The church presented Obama's speech on Tuesday and arranged with the school district for any student who attended to get an excused absence from school.
(Photo by Bill Pugliano, Getty Images)

Posted by Doug Stanglin at 10:57 AM/ET, September 09, 2009 in Politics, Washington
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