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Wiccan Fights Suspension From School
Updated 7:48 AM ET January 12, 2000
LAURINBURG, N.C. (Reuters) - A North Carolina high school teacher suspended
after telling administrators she practices a pagan religion associated with
witchcraft said on Tuesday she would fight to get her job back.
Shari Eicher, an 11th-grade English teacher at Scotland High School in
Laurinburg, North Carolina, about 85 miles (135 km) southeast of Charlotte,
said she was escorted off campus by school officials and suspended
indefinitely with pay on Monday because of her religious beliefs.
Eicher and her husband, Richard, are practicing Wiccans, a pagan religion
whose adherents worship nature and focus on positive energy. Although the
religion is associated with witchcraft, Wiccans say the connection is
misunderstood and the faith has nothing to do with devil worship.
"I do my job the way it is supposed to be done," Eicher said. "My students
learn what they're supposed to learn. What I do in my private time and how I
worship my concept of deity are none of their business."
Eicher said she has contacted the North Carolina Education Association for
legal help in appealing her suspension.
Scotland County Schools Superintendent Shirley Prince said an investigation
was under way, but declined further comment.
Eicher said she did not discuss Wicca with students, and disclosed her
religious beliefs to administrators after a reporter asked her about an
Internet Web site maintained by her husband about a local Wicca group
(http://www.witchvox.com).
Eicher said she did not keep her beliefs a secret from administrators at
Scotland High School, where she has taught for three years. She said she was
told it would not be a problem as long as her beliefs did not interfere with
her teaching.
Eicher and her husband said they were ordained Wicca ministers and had been
Wiccans for 16 months.
They said rumors about their beliefs surfaced in their hometown of Wagram,
about 10 miles (15 km) north of Laurinburg in southeastern North Carolina.
On his Web site, Richard Eicher said he also planned to file a lawsuit over
his dismissal from a local company because of his religious beliefs.
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