Teacher dismissed over ID cards Religious controversy stirred in West Virginia

By David M. Bresnahan
1999 WorldNetDaily.com

The battle over bar-coded ID cards in a small public high school in Elkins, West Virginia, could be an omen for public schools across the country.

A veteran teacher whose religious convictions have been ridiculed by school board members and ignored by the administration, found himself without a job yesterday.

Phillip Hudok was asked to clean out his desk and turn in his keys. He is now on unpaid suspension waiting for a hearing to determine if he will continue his 22-year career as a physics and chemistry teacher at Elkins High School.

What happened to Hudok may soon happen to other fundamentalist Christian teachers around the nation. The Randolph County Board of Education claims to be on the cutting edge of federal recommendations that are soon expected to become requirements.

In an effort to prevent student violence against other students, Elkins High School instituted a new rule for added security. Students and faculty are now required to wear a photo ID with a bar code. It must be visible at all times, as recommended by the federal government.

Hudok resisted for religious reasons. A small group of students also refused. Hudok was granted permission to create his own ID card, but he refused to police students for ID cards as they entered his classroom.

ID cards are nothing new. High schools across the nation have used them for many years. The change that disturbed Hudok was the requirement that cards be visible and display a numbered bar code.

Numerous heated school board meetings were held. Parents and students rallied to Hudok's side in the little community of 15,000. Hudok quoted a variety of Bible scriptures to support his belief that it is contrary to his religion for him to wear the numbered ID.

Article 3, section 15 of the West Virginia Constitution states: "... nor shall any man be enforced, restrained, molested or burdened, in his body or goods, or otherwise suffer, on account of his religious belief ..." but the Randolph County School District officials do not believe it applies.

His pastor, Butch Paugh, hosts a nightly short-wave radio program. He invited Hudok to be a guest on his show. A WorldNetDaily article alerted other talk show hosts to the story, and Hudok quickly became sought after as a guest.

Listeners from all over the country began calling the members of the school board and the administration to complain. They all quickly placed answering machines on their phones, and one even left a derogatory message threatening callers with the use of Satanic powers.

"You have reached 666," said the message on board member Mark Rizzio's answering machine. "If you would like to leave a message we will get back to you as soon as possible. If that isn't quick enough we will use our satanic powers to get back to you even sooner."

Rizzio later said the message was left as a joke by his wife. Board members, the superintendent, and the school's principal, have not returned messages left by WorldNetDaily.

An agreement was reached by all parties to permit Hudok to wear an ID card with the bar code removed. The bar code is used by the school lunch system. Glen Karlen, superintendent of schools, notified members of the press that the problem was resolved.

Although Hudok agreed to wear the altered ID, he continued to refuse to require the students in his classroom to wear their ID cards. The issue quickly heated up again.

"They're dismissing me because I failed to enforce the ID card policy in my classroom. They call that insubordination and willful neglect of duty," said Hudok.

Hudok, who has not had much legal assistance, filed a grievance because he was being forced to violate his religious convictions. He was surprised to be dismissed while the grievance process was still underway.

He said he was asked to enforce the ID card policy in his classroom until the grievance could be heard. He refused.

"I can't do that. How can I possibly ask someone to do something that I can't do myself? They've already given me permission to cut off the bar code, which I did. But they're saying that I have to enforce the students to wear their cards which have bar codes," explained Hudok.

When he asked for an explanation for the dismissal, Hudok says he was told that talking to the press did him in.

"The school board's attorney said that because of my being on talk shows and getting a lot of publicity that the appearance was that I was trying to be hateful to the school system," explained Hudok.

He said his objective is to do what is right. He is prepared to abandon his career and seek a new line of work rather than compromise his beliefs.

Hudok may be contacted by email at phudok@hotmail.com

David M. Bresnahan, a contributing editor for WorldNetDaily.com, is the author of "Cover Up: The Art and Science of Political Deception," and offers a monthly newsletter "Talk USA Investigative Reports." He may be reached through email and also maintains a website.