Bible Verse Painted On Public School Parking Spot Causes Controversy

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL — A public school employee in Pasco County is taking issue with a Bible verse written on a spot in the school parking lot, but officials say the quote is there to stay, according to reports.

Marina Gentilesco, an instructional assistant at Wiregrass Ranch High School and the daughter of Holocaust survivors, told WFLA that, as a Jew, she feels attacked by the Bible verse, which says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

“If you want this at church or at home, no problem, but this is at a public school," Gentilesco told the Jewish Press of Tampa Bay.

Gentilesco brought her concerns to school administrators and the Jewish Community Relations Council, but to no avail, FOX 13 reported. Council Chair Jonathan Ellis told the station that the council couldn’t force the removal of the verse in part because it isn’t directly tied to instruction.

School district spokesman Stephen Hegarty told the Jewish Press that the Bible verse — Philippians 4:13 from the New Testament — can stay, because no tax dollars were spent on it and it is neither proselytizing nor in poor taste.

Gentilesco disagreed, arguing that while the teacher who had the verse painted did so out of ignorance rather than malice, she believes it is proselytizing, according to the Jewish Press.

“Don’t put your religion where it does not belong,” she told the newspaper.