Fargo School Board Vice President shares his reasons for flipping vote to reinstate Pledge of Allegiance

(Fargo, ND) -- A local education leader joined WDAY Midday to speak on their reasoning for reversing their vote on The Pledge of Allegiance. 

Fargo School Board Vice President Seth Holden joined seven other board members, in an 8-1 vote, to reinstate the pledge. He says his vote to bring back the pledge is not due to a change of principles, but instead as a way to make sure the district receives the support it needs.

"I still stand extremely firm on my reasonings I gave to discontinue the Pledge of Allegiance, "said Vice President Holden, "After looking at the big picture, I thought it was time to concede the battle to win the war."

Holden says the "war" being waged is directly affecting public schools. The Vice President cites an ongoing campaign over funding dollars from parents, which he says is being "siphoned" away due to private school voucher programs. 

"There's definitely a concerted effort to dismantle public education in this country, "said Holden, "Public education is already struggling enough to be able to fund and pay teachers what they deserve, and to keep buildings open. The voucher systems just siphon that money away, and put it into private hands. That is not what the public education system was established for, it was established so we all chip in and we all benefit from it." 

Holden says the concerns he holds between the pledge and school funding are related. The Vice President elaborates, saying his concerns and questions related to originally voting to nix the pledge could potentially cause future problems when it comes to finding additional funding for school programs. 

"I just felt, when it was time to vote... The concerns that I had, the questions that I had. It just seemed to me that we have a bigger fight on our hands, "said Holden, "We need to concentrate on that."

You can learn more about the vote to reinstate the pledge by clicking here.