A Martin Luther King Jr. Day school assembly has opened a painful rift in the Snoqualmie Valley over religion, politics and sexuality.
More than 150 people packed the Snoqualmie Valley School Board meeting for more than three hours Thursday night to lay bare their opinions on religious tolerance, homosexuality and bullying in response to the Jan. 17 assembly at Snoqualmie's Mount Si High School.
The Rev. Ken Hutcherson, from Redmond's Antioch Bible Church, spoke at the assembly about growing up as an African American amid racial prejudice.
Though it wasn't part of his speech, Hutcherson is nationally known for advocating against homosexuality and gay marriage. Two English teachers made their disagreement with those views known at the assembly.
George Potratz booed Hutcherson and, after the speech, Kit McCormick stood up and asked Hutcherson whether he believed in equal rights for gays and lesbians.
Hutcherson didn't like the way he was treated, and the district has apologized to him, to Mount Si students and to parents.
Superintendent Joel Aune said the district would increase adult oversight of student assemblies, improve teacher training and create a task force to review how to teach controversial subjects.
But if Thursday's meeting was any indication, the apologies and plans haven't stemmed the tide of anger.
People on both sides Thursday chided district officials. One side said the school never should have invited Hutcherson to speak and that it failed to stand up for the two teachers who challenged him.
English teacher Susan Holihan said the past three weeks have been the "most disheartening" of her career. By not supporting the two teachers, the school district is isolating gay students, she said.
"The message you're sending ... is they should just keep their mouths shut," she said.
People on the other side of the debate, many of whom identified themselves as Christian, said Hutcherson wasn't the problem. The problem was the teachers who voiced their personal and political views at school.
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