The awards banquet is unfortunately a different matter. E-mails and records show that this was a school event with students, that Winkler knew prayer was not allowed, and that she deliberately chose her husband to offer the prayer instead. Sadly for her, the order doesn't just forbid prayer by employees; it also forbids employees from having a non-employee offer a prayer. It appears she violated this federal court order.
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (barring the establishment of religion) originally only constrained the federal government. In 1947, the Supreme Court extended it to state and local governments as well. Public schools are part of state government, and so are bound in every respect by the court rulings on the Establishment Clause. That includes public school employees, when acting within the scope of their employment.
But with all due respect to the judge, this order goes too far. It forbids school employees from "participating" in any prayer, meaning that can't even bow their heads if someone else is praying. It also forbids them from allowing any private-sector person from offering a prayer. It uses overly-broad terms. It requires these employees, who are American citizens, to sign away some of their personal First Amendment rights.
It was ill-advised for the school district to try to make a deal with the ACLU. The ACLU is a ruthlessly and militantly secular organization, and these officials shouldn't have thought that if they signed a deal written by the ACLU that it would save them from this sort of outrage. -- Sometimes you have to fight.
The judge should not have allowed this deal to become an order, however. It goes well beyond events that involve endorsing or coercing religious activity (which the Supreme Court has--rightly or wrongly--previously outlawed in a series of liberal decisions). At least with regards to the athletic director, the court should not have issued a contempt citation.
These people should not go to prison. The first two did nothing wrong, and the third likely did not realize how serious the consequences could be. This deal should be scrapped, and the whole issue of such basic religious expressions in school should be revisited with an eye to our Founding Fathers' design for protecting such expressions from the federal government.
And one lesson is clear: Never make a deal with the ACLU. They won't meet you half-way. Either you'll be forced to conform to their far-left vision of America or they'll drop the hammer on you with vengeance.
Ironically, Sept. 17 is Constitution Day. Let's pray for some common sense and that the Constitution will be upheld at this hearing.