"Oklahoma," Trangender, Sherman ISD, and Jesus Crazyland. What we know so far. Updated. Update: DMN article corroborates this report.
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UPDATE 3: Dallas Morning News final report omitting the fact this superintendent was trying to make Sherman ISD a Christian school.
UPDATE 2: Possible vote on termination.
UPDATE1: Theocrat Sherman ISD has been put on leave.
Dallas Morning News
KTEN
https://www.kten.com/story/50547919/sherman-isd-superintendent-suspended-by-trustees
KERA
KXII
https://www.kxii.com/2024/03/08/sherman-isd-board-votes-suspend-superintendent-with-pay/
Herald Democrat
Dallas Morning News article corroborates this report.
Towards the end of the article they point out that the Sherman ISD had go off the deep end becoming some Evangelical School system to be run on the basis of Evangelical beliefs. They don’t dig as deep as I did, but they didn’t let the fact that there had been some issue of a Evangelical take over be omitted. This doesn’t mean the Dallas Morning News is getting better. At the same time they published and promoted a homophobic group in an opinion piece.
Introduction
As has been reported, a transgender individual was cast in a role in a high school play, “Oklahoma,” and Sherman Independent School District flipped its lid “as high as an elephants eye.”
They issues some type of confused justification to preclude this person from playing the role that this student was cast in.
[Does Sherman ISD know that Shakespeare’s plays had young men play the roles of women in the plays?]
This is the New York Times news article on this.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/us/trans-actor-oklahoma-sherman-texas.html
Though the reversal of Sherman ISD was attributed to what the parents said and public outrage, I think the real motivation was the Sherman Chamber of Commerce realizing the economic consequences of being a Jesus Craziland. That is the really huge investment in a semiconductor manufacturing plant that was going to be made by Texas Instruments in Sherman, Texas. When you run an advanced very high, extremely high technological operation, you need really elite talent. Talent that isn’t going to relocate to Jesus craziland.
Sherman ISD Superintendent was removed from any role in supervising the Fine Arts Program.
Now there is an investigation and Sherman ISD Tyson Bennett could lose his job.
The Dallas Morning News is updating this article.
Herald Democrat
KXII
https://www.kxii.com/2024/03/08/sherman-isd-board-votes-suspend-superintendent-with-pay/
KERA
Some statements by Sherman ISD.
School Boad Changes Oversight of SISD Fine Arts
Original Cast Reinstated.
Biographical info about SISD Superintendent Tyson Bennett from SISD website.
“Dr. Tyson Bennett Named Lone Finalist for Sherman ISD Superintendent.”
“Superintendent Tyson Bennett, Ph.D.”
https://www.shermanisd.net/Page/20
https://web.archive.org/web/20231109225809/https://www.shermanisd.net/Page/20
This was likely not an accident on Sherman ISD’s part. It had become a defacto religious school.
I am going to archive some things so they don’t disappear.
Superintendent Tyson Bennett issued this statement.
https://www.shermanisd.net/standinthegap
We’re extremely grateful for the partnerships that we have with our church congregations throughout our community. We benefit tremendously from the support that we’re provided for our mentoring programs, staff recognition days, school supply drives, volunteer outreach, and meeting a variety of basic needs for our students and families. I’m certain that we simply cannot operate at a high level without the support of our church congregations.
For this year, we’re going a step further and asking our church congregations and community to “Stand In The Gap” for us. Stand in the gap between the challenges of this world and our staff and students through prayer. Here are just a few things that we would be so grateful if you prayed for our staff and students:
Peace at home and school,
Productive and successful days,
Opportunities to encourage others,
Wise decision-making, and
Protection from harm.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tyson Bennett
Superintendent
Was Sherman ISD a public school or a private religious school? See the Youtube videos below.
This was the flyer for the Standing in the Gap event.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OJgQ8kmni1EhsP8356Egshjrg0a2GJFy/view?pli=1
This is like one of those late night creepy movies where some people are taking a vacation trip and accidently take the wrong turn and end up in a small town where things turn out to be sinister.
Then there is this video.
The above video was also on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=617613250513065
Sherman ISD Facebook Page.
https://www.facebook.com/ShermanISD/
It also had the Stand in the Gap prayer thing.
This post provided links to the chuches.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230000000000*/https://www.shermanisd.net/standinthegap
So which churches were doing the praying.
https://www.kten.com/story/47024029/fill-in-the-gap-prayer-program-at-sherman-isd
The article above mentions Pastor Mike Lawson of the First Baptist Sherman.
https://www.facebook.com/fbcsherman
They are anti-LGBT. This is their statement of principles. https://bfm.sbc.net/
In the previous Facebook statement these were some of the churches mention.
[1] Harvest Time. Assemblies of God. https://www.htsherman.org/
Turns out they are enemies of the LGBT.
https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Homosexuality-Marriage-and-Sexual-Identity
[2] Heart of A Matter Ministries. https://aheartmatter.org/
[3] Western Heights Church of Christ. https://www.facebook.com/westernheights
https://www.westernheights.org/
Upset that homosexuality is becoming accepted.
There were three of the following sections.
[4] Victory Life Church. We have set aside a whole section for them below, for reasons which we will explain.
[5] Post Oak Fellowship. https://www.facebook.com/PostOakFellowship
https://postoakfellowship.com/
They don’t like same sex marriage.
https://postoakfellowship.com/what-we-believe
[6] Grace United Methodist Church https://www.gracesherman.org/
Denomination is anti-Gay, but pastor is not happy.
https://www.pastorfrankdrenner.com/2019/02/initial-thoughts-from-general.html
[7] Liberty Church https://www.facebook.com/LibertyChurchSherman
Website is down and last post on their Facebook was Aug. 28, 2022. A defunct church is a church that isn’t hating Gays.
[8] North Park Baptist Church. https://www.facebook.com/NorthParkSherman
https://www.northparksherman.com/
It is another Southern Baptist Church that is Gay hating.
[9] New Hope Christian Church Fellowship. https://www.facebook.com/newhopechristianchurchfellowship
From the transcript for the following YouTube video.
11:58
it's happening again in our nation we have this same-sex
12:05
marriage we have this homosexuality thing that has jumped to the forefront
12:10
of all of our society you can't watch tv you can't listen to radio
12:17
you can't do nothing without singing or hearing something about homosexuality
12:23
sexual immoral nothing even if it's not same-sex marriage it's
12:30
married having sex outside of marriage it's in the forefront of what we're
12:37
doing today same way back then
I suppose this person is Rev. Clown of that church.
[10] Leap of Faith Church.
https://www.facebook.com/lofcpottsboro
Actually, don’t seem to be on a campaign against the LGBT.
[11] Faith Church of Sherman Texas https://www.facebook.com/faithchurchofsherman/
Not finding info. Notice, a link wasn’t supplied to their Facebook page either.
The following are Internet Archive Links for some of the above news story.
Victory Life Church
https://victorylifechurch.com/
https://victorylifechurch.com/about/
https://victorylifechurch.com/locations/sherman/
https://web.archive.org/web/20231118013203/https://victorylifechurch.com/
https://web.archive.org/web/20231118013405/https://victorylifechurch.com/about/
https://web.archive.org/web/20231102081111/https://victorylifechurch.com/locations/sherman/
https://www.youtube.com/@victorylifesherman1635/videos
They are anti-LGBT and it is fairly clear they are the usual fentanyl Jesus practicioners.
This is from a transcript of the following YouTube Video.
33:13 over a long period of time that's all sexual perversion
33:18 and you can't call out one sin said homosexuality that's a sin and and
33:24 we can love the world love the people in the world and you and i need to do better at loving the people in the world
33:32 and part of loving people in the world doesn't mean looking self-righteously down at them their sin
33:38 because i guarantee you there's tons of people looking down on a sin of homosexuality while at the same time
33:44 engaging in pornography and masturbation it's okay to say these things because if you don't say it in church where are you
33:50 going to hear it probably the news and that's not going to be a good place to hear it or children's programming
The following video is Andrew Wommack talking to Jacob Sheriff.
So which church is Sherman ISD Tyson Bennett a member?
Not able to find out any information about which church Tyson Bennett is a member or if he is a member of any church. However, his wife, Tanna Bennett appears to be making comments on the Victory Life Sherman Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1943796679207781/search/?q=tanna
This is the Facebook page I get when I click on her comments.
https://www.facebook.com/tanna.bennett
In this profile picture it appears that her husband is Tyson Bennett.
https://www.facebook.com/tanna.bennett/posts/5492537347509408:755067222250097
However, none of this even proves that Tanna Bennett is a member of Victory Life or any other church, and even if she was, it wouldn’t prove that Tyson Bennett is a member of Victory Life or any other church.
So this is where we are at now. Inquiries are being made. If you have a lead let us known.
Videos of SISD school board meetings with local Christian crazies
Nov. 17, 2023.
Nov. 13, 2023
Conclusion
it seems that Tyson Bennett had come to think of Sherman ISD as a private religious school and acted accordingly. The line between church and state hadn’t been merely blurred, but erased.
As Christians often do, they think that they are justified in forcing their faith and beliefs on others and so the transgender youth got kicked out of the part in the play “Oklahoma.”
The Dallas Morning News isn’t looking into the religious issue behind what happened, but this is no surprise.