At Tuesday's school board meeting, the Scout leaders objected to the district not allowing the group to recruit students during school hours or during open house events after school. They said membership has fallen in the three Cub Scout packs and three Boy Scout troops that serve the district.

``If we let you come, we have to let just about everybody else come through,'' said Superintendent Dr. Kathy Myers Wunder.

Because of the Scouts' ties to religion, she said the district could not maintain a separation of church and state while giving the group access to students during school hours. The board also could not recognize the Scouts as a board-approved booster organization for this reason, Wunder said.

``This is a small community,'' said Ron Jordan, committee chairman for Brush Valley Cub Scout Pack 9. ``This isn't the big city. You believe in things. You believe in God.''