Frank Lay

Frank Lay
Occupation	Principal, Pace High School
Religion	Baptist
Spouse	Nancy Barron Lay (m. 1969)
Parents	John Gordon and Margaret Lay
Children	Dr. Kristopher Lay Kace Lay Browning Kara Lay Whitney Klinton Lay

Henry Frank Lay is the current principal of Pace High School. He was a named defendant in a 2008 ACLU religious freedom lawsuit against the Santa Rosa County School District and was later charged with criminal contempt by U.S. District Court Judge Casey Rodgers for violating the terms of the consent decree agreed upon in the suit.

Background & personal life

A native of Santa Rosa County, Lay is a 1966 graduate of Milton High School. He received his bachelor's degree in physical education from Troy State University in 1970 and a master's degree in the same from Georgia State University in 1974. In 1977 Lay became a coach and teacher at Pace High School, and in 1989 he was named the school's principal.

Lay married the former Nancy Barron in 1969. She is now a reading teacher at Pace High. They have four children, two of whom are also teachers in the Santa Rosa School District (one at Pace High).

The Lays are currently members of Olive Baptist Church, where Frank is a deacon and Bible teacher.

King brothers

In the 1990s, the Lays donated money and time to the Heritage Home shelter, taking a particular interest in four brothers who had been placed there by their financially distressed father, Terry King. They made arrangements for two of the brothers, Alex and Derek, to visit their home on weekends. When the Heritage Home closed from lack of funding, the Lays became foster parents to 6-year-old Derek. He would live with them for the next seven years, during which time, the Lays later said, Derek became increasingly troubled. They sought help from counselors at their church, but eventually decided in October 2001 to return Derek to his father's custody. The next month, on November 26, Derek and his brother Alex committed patricide.

ACLU lawsuit

On August 27, 2008, the ACLU of Florida filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Santa Rosa County School District on behalf of two Pace High School students. Principal Lay and former Santa Rosa Superintendent John Rogers were named as defendants in the complaint, which alleged that the school officials "used their government positions … to persistently and pervasively promote their personal religious beliefs in the public schools and at school events." The complaint also alleged that teachers and staff preached about "judgment day with the Lord" and conducted Bible readings and biblical interpretations at student meetings.

According to Benjamin Stevenson, attorney for the Northwest Region, "We sent a number of letters and exchanged telephone calls to avoid litigation" in 2006. "After the School Board failed to bring the district in line with the Constitution and American values by ending the practice of school officials using their official positions to promote their religion, we had to act."

On December 15, the Santa Rosa County School Board, along with Lay and Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick, filed an "Admission of Liability" with the court regarding district-wide constitutional violations. On January 12, 2009, Judge Casey Rodgers issued an order prohibiting the school district and its employees from the following:

• Promoting prayer at school-sponsored events, including graduation.
• Planning or financing religious baccalaureate services.
• Promoting religious beliefs to students in class or during school-sponsored events and activities.
• Holding school-sponsored events at churches.

The consent decree and order signed on May 9, 2009 permanently enjoined school officials from "promoting, advancing, endorsing, participating in, or causing Prayers during or in conjunction with School Events" with specific instruction that "School Officials shall not encourage, solicit, or invite any person, either implicitly or explicitly, to deliver or offer a Prayer during or in conjunction with a School Event."

Insurance agency owner Robert Smith, who graduated from Milton High School with Lay, established the Lay Freeman Defense Fund in August 2009 "to pay [the defendants'] legal expenses and to fight the ACLU." Within a month it had raised about $40,000 and growing.

Community involvement & recognition

• Deacon & Bible teacher, Olive Baptist Church
• Pace Area Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year," 2005

References

• Carmen Paige. "A principal's principles." Pensacola News Journal, August 9, 2009.