SC School Board Delays Implementing Prayer Policy

School Board members are waiting to learn whether or not prayer will be permitted in monthly meetings.

According to various media outlets, the Pickens County School Board voted four to two against proceeding with a new policy it approved last month that would have allowed ministers take turns praying before school board meetings.

School board officials say the decision not to vote came from their attorney. Trustee Jim Shelton says the board is not rejecting prayer during the meetings, but needs more time to study the issue.

But Shem Durham, pastor of Cannon Mountain Baptist Church in Pickens, took a dim view of the decision to delay the policy, saying the board was failing to uphold a constitutional right.

"Our Constitution gives us the right to pray in Jesus' name," he told The Greenville News.