By Petra Chesner Schlatter; BucksLocalNews.com

Two parents addressed the Pennsbury School Board Sept. 10 about the administration’s decision not to broadcast President Barack Obama’s back-to-school speech, but to instead make it available as a resource to middle school and high school students.

The district also decided not to broadcast the speech to elementary school students.

With Obama’s speech scheduled to air Tuesday, Sept. 8, the school district received complaints from parents. The administration had consulted with school board members about whether to broadcast the speech and the board members “expressed their opinion in a split vote,” according to Paul Long, CEO of the school district.

The matter, Long said, had created a “bit of a media circus” prior to the broadcast of the speech. Parents contacted the school district saying they objected to showing the president’s speech to their students. After the decision was made to not broadcast the speech, the school district “had many objections from people who were in favor of requiring people to listen to the president’s speech,” according to Long.

Andy Steppe, whose two children attend Fallsington Elementary School, said while he agreed with the school administration’s decision, he was concerned about “the timeliness and the lack of specificity” regarding the contents of the speech.

Steppe said the decision was made without following a “checklist” regarding board policy on these matters. Long said the speech “was a resource” and “did not fit in the checklist” for curriculum policy.

“I support your decision,” emphasized Steppe, who also noted that he served in the military and respects the president. “My concern was the involvement of parents in the decision. Parents are the primary educators."

Paul Roden of Lower Makefield Township said he was “deeply disturbed” about what he called “the blocking” of the president’s message. Roden’s son is a senior at Pennsbury High School and his daughter is a Pennsbury graduate.

Roden said the school district was sending “a negative message to the community and the world.”

“We’re giving into the more extreme elements in our society," Roden said. "It’s the wrong path to go down.”

If parents do not want their children to see the president’s message, Roden said those students could leave the room.

“To block it I think is a big mistake,” he said.

Board President Greg Lucidi recapped the decision for Roden who had arrived after the discussion on the matter,

“It wasn’t blocked,” Lucidi said. He stressed the speech was available as a resource at the middle school and available to students at the high school.

Board member Gene Dolnick said there are “factions of people from the left and to the right. Everybody knows the president is a skilled orator. He chooses his words wisely. He is the president of the United States ... I wish every student had the opportunity to hear what the president said.”

Board member Richard Johnson stressed that the “board was active in this decision -- it was a 4-4 vote."

“We were deeply divided,” Johnson said. The board, he noted, came up with a compromise, "which satisfied all of us.” He said that compromise, however, “didn’t make all of us completely happy.”

Long said the contents of Obama’s speech were not announced other than it would be an “inspiration for students.”

Long said he thought of the speech as a resource. He hoped to take advantage of the speech and it was of interest for students to hear what the president would have to say, “especially when addressing the youth.”

However, Long said the administration had to find a way to “exempt students.” They tried to find a way to notify parents to get permission slips back.

“It’s a matter of ethical consideration that I wouldn’t force students to listen to a speech to which the parents might object,” Long said.

Long said he consulted with several principals and others about the matter. The plan was implemented to not show the speech to elementary school students, but to make it available in a resource period at the middle schools and make it available at the high school “when it fits into the curriculum.”