 A North Carolina school board gives up prayer. SRN's Michael Harrington. After being threatened by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Robeson County school officials have decided to end their practice of opening their meetings with a prayer. The foundation's primary goal is to rid the public square of Christianity altogether, and it does so by sending demand letters to various small public organizations with the implication of legal action. Most local school boards and councils give in rather than go to court.