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School roses come with Bible verse By KATI JIVIDEN The Kansas City Star For Christina Kuhn, it's the thought that counts. Not the Bible verse. The senior was one of 971 girls at Shawnee Mission West High School to receive a Valentine's Day rose with a biblical verse Friday from three male classmates. The boys signed their first name and last initial on the notes. “When I first got it I was like ‘What is this?' I had no idea,” Kuhn said. “Some people thought it was inappropriate, but I didn't feel that way.” District spokeswoman Leigh Anne Neal said that after the boys came up with the idea, the school talked to a district lawyer about the notes to see whether they violated the separation of church and state. “The school district's understanding is that this is an issue of freedom of speech,” Neal said. The verse, Romans 3:22, was handwritten and affixed to each rose: We are all made right in God's spirit when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins and we all can be saved in the same way no matter who we are or what we have done. Male students at the school did not receive a Bible verse. The three boys, whom school district officials did not name, bought the flowers from DECA, a club that teaches entrepreneurship and leadership skills. The organization was raising money for the state DECA contest in March. DECA received almost $1,500 from the three boys, who got the roses for $1.50 each because of the size of their purchase. The three boys shoveled snow and did other tasks to raise the money, said math teacher Jan Berghaus. Other students paid $2 per rose, said Scott Aldrich, business teacher and DECA sponsor. Normally, DECA sells about 600 flowers but had to order more this year when the boys approached the organization about their idea to give flowers to every girl in the school. An extra 1,000 had to be ordered. Neal said the school was not endorsing or advocating a specific religion. “We hope that students (and p
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