N.C. man was at core of Pa. "intelligent design" debate
N.C. man was at core of Pa. "intelligent design" debate
Associated Press, 12/27/2005
HARRISBURG, Pa. A man who now lives in Mount Airy was at the center of the Pennsylvania school lawsuit that ended in defeat for advocates of teaching intelligent design in science classes.
William Buckingham says he has no regrets about pushing the change in science curriculum in the Dover, Pennsylvania, schools that promoted "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolution.
He insists the Constitution says nothing about requiring a separation between church and state.
Buckingham served as the Pennsylvania school board's curriculum chairman and admitted in one televised interview that he thought evolution lessons should be balanced with something like creationism.
He was reprimanded by a federal judge for concealing religious motives when the Dover school board adopted the first-in-the-nation policy.
U-S District Judge John Jones said in his opinion last week that Buckingham and the Dover school board's president tried to conceal the source of some of the money used to buy copies of a book promoting intelligent design.
Buckingham collected money to buy the book for school libraries from members of his church.
Buckingham resigned from the Pennsylvania school board in August. Voters in Dover last month swept out most of the other incumbents.
The Pennsylvania town's new school board is considering placing intelligent design in an elective social studies class so that the concept can be taught legally.