Schools
North Penn Revisiting Halloween, Holiday Parade Policy
After 90 minutes of parent complaints, the North Penn School Board Thursday night will look more into the administrative policy on holiday parades.
By this time next year, Halloween parades (and other holiday parades) could return to schools.
On Thursday night, parents expressed frustrations and concerns for 90 minutes to the North Penn School Board over the administrative policy regarding Halloween and other holiday parades during school hours, according to The Intelligencer.
The policy, however, remains in place for this year.
According to the article board member Suzan Leonard, who chairs the Education/Community/Policy Committee, told parents the policy was enacted for safety reasons, and not for religious or instructional reasons.
Some parents and home and school association members at Walton Farm Elementary have pinned the reason for the policy change on one family whose religion is Jehovah's Witness.
Per the article, that family's patriarch is Steve Sioli, who told the board that Principal S.A. Dantzler overreached in finding a common ground.
Sioli had approached Dantzler about being able to have his daughter go to the library or stay home if there was a Halloween celebration, according to the report.
The board's intention was just that however--let the principal decide the best course of action. One board member called the policy "unbalanced."
Read more at this link.
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