Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) slammed a New Jersey school district over its decision to cancel all Halloween celebrations over fears of insensitivity.
Earlier in October, Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, superintendent of schools for the South Orange-Maplewood School District, sent a letter to parents announcing that no Halloween celebrations would be held by the school district, claiming that doing so may “violate the dignity of some of our students and families, either culturally or religiously.” The cancellation of the holiday was bashed by the governor.
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“Seriously? We can’t let kids celebrate Halloween? Give me a break,” Murphy wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
When asked for a response to Murphy’s condemnation, the district defended the move by saying that a survey of principals showed support for the move and that it was a vital step for the school’s “equity values.”
“All of us realize that this breaks with what the District has usually done, and that can be a difficult thing to do sometimes,” Dr. Kevin Gilbert, assistant superintendent of access and equity, said in the statement. “Often, working to instill greater equity in our district begins with recognizing that we cannot do what we have always done. But with this decision, we are taking a step closer to upholding our community’s access and equity values.”
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In the original letter to parents, Taylor presented the argument for canceling Halloween celebrations through a series of questions about sensitivity toward possibly offending some groups.
“Each year, questions arise from families, students, and staff about what SOMSD schools will be doing regarding Halloween,” Taylor wrote. “Is promoting school-sponsored Halloween activities creating indirect and unintentional financial hardships for students and families? Do school-sponsored Halloween activities violate the dignity of some of our students and families, either culturally or religiously? Does the promotion of school-sponsored Halloween activities create tensions with the equity and access values of SOMSD?”
