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A picture of the 44th president on a sign is causing a controversy in Bountiful.
Right now the marquee at Mueller Park Junior High School, located at 995 E. 1800 South in Bountiful, has a picture of Abraham Lincoln. But when it had a picture and quotation from President Barack Obama, it made someone mad.
An anonymous flier was sent to the parents, the school and the Davis School District criticizing the marquee, saying "Our tax dollars at work. Political inspiration."
According to the Standard Examiner, the flyer indicated that signs similar to the one at Mueller Park cost about $20,000 and the monthly cost of operation and maintenance is about $120.
But the district says the marquee was paid for in part by fundraising.
Parent Annie Hansen rolled her eyes. "Free speech. You need to acknowledge he is our president, whether you agree or not," she said.
Hansen didn't see the sign when Obama was featured. But her daughter, seventh grader Chelsea Hansen, did.
"A whole bunch of kids, when Obama was up there, they kept throwing snowballs at it," Chelsea said.
Annie Hansen says it seems those kids' parents taught them that. "It's how you present an idea. If the parents present it wrong, the children continue on that path which is wrong," she said.
The district says it would love to respond to the person behind the flyer but it can't because it's anonymous. It says no one protested when past quotes on the sign featured President Bush, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower and Walt Disney.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
