The school board here decided Friday to fire a science teacher accused of burning a cross on a student's arm and teaching creationism in his class.

The board, however, will give John Freshwater, 51, of Mount Vernon Middle School two weeks to appeal the decision to end his contract and argue his case before the firing is made official on July 7.

The panel's decision was prompted by Freshwater's continued defiance of the board's 2003 order for him not to teach creationism, the Bible-based theory that God created matter and all things that exist.

The decision followed the filing of a lawsuit against Freshwater and the school district by the family of one of his students, whom he allegedly branded with a cross. The teacher used a high frequency generator to burn an image of a cross on students' arms in December to demonstrate the device. He said the image is an "X" not a cross.

Freshwater has worked for the Mount Vernon school district for 21 years. He commands many supporters from the board and teachers and students from the middle school.

In April, he figured in a controversy for defying the board's order to remove a Bible from his desk, though the teacher removed other religious items in his classroom.