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Published on 10/16/1995 All articles from this issue

Halloween headache

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By Chris McCrellis-Mitchell / Town Crier Staff Writer

Rethinking of school district's religion policy triggers controversy heard across the nation

No more witches. No more ghouls. No more costume parades at school.

These may result from a decision by the Los Altos Elementary School District's Board of Trustees regarding the celebration of Halloween in class.

The topic of how to handle religious holidays in the eight-school district has been discussed since January, as a result of protests over a Hanukkah song in a winter program. Although Board President Phil Faillace said Halloween had been mentioned before, is was only recently that Halloween was added to a list of unacceptable holidays that includes Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Yom Kippur, among others.

A final decision was expected at Monday's meeting, but with as many people expected to attend - the meeting was changed from its normal site to Blach school in anticipation of a larger than normal crowd - the decision may have to wait a little longer. Results of Monday's meeting were not available at press time.

Faillace, in a memo presented at Monday's meeting, said that in order to gain an additional day of instruction and to "make moot the claim of a few parents that school sponsored celebrations of Halloween appear to endorse certain beliefs about purely religious issues," the Board asked the schools to do two things: The first was holiday celebrations, like costume parades and parties be put off until the school day is over; secondly, teachers broaden their assignments so that if students don't want to base their responses on Halloween, they won't have to.

The memo also published an explanation by the group of parents and citizens who are opposed to school time Halloween celebrations. It explained, in detail, the history of the October holiday as they found out through research and the implications of celebrating a "satanic" holiday at school can have on some students.

Although the decision affects only Oak and Bullis-Purrissima schools - the other six schools in the district have already have after-school celebrations - it does not appear to be a popular one.

The decision sparked different reactions in the community, from anger to confusion to disbelief. Word of the decision and the backlash made the evening news on local television stations Thursday, garnered write-ups in two major Bay Area newspapers and was picked up by the Associated Press wire service. A CBS crew as in downtown Los Altos Friday interviewing people about the issue.

Mark San Juan was so angry when he heard that Halloween was being "banned" at Los Altos schools on the noon news, he quickly made a sign and drove to downtown Los Altos to protest. On one side, the sign read, "Halloween is not a religion."

"Not to kids anyway," said San Juan, who lived in Los Altos for 25 years. "They don't know the difference. I'm really outraged. They're taking away from kids' childhoods. Halloween is part of growing up."

The other side of the sign read "School should be fun: Let Kids Be Kids."

Not so, said Pam Franklin, one of the citizens behind the board's changing of attitude toward Halloween.

"We're taxpayers. We feel school time should be for education and not for fluff, certainly not for Halloween," Franklin said. "We have gotten so far away from education. Kids really want to learn. There seems to be less and less learning going on."

Fellow proponent Pam Bryant agreed. "We're making the classroom focus on reading, writing and arithmetic," she said. "They can still do it after school. There's still Halloween all over the place. It's still here."

Besides discussing the "evils" of Halloween, Franklin said she feels it's unfair for students whose families don't celebrate Halloween for religious reasons to be forced into participating in related activities are being singled out for requesting to be excluded from an activity. She recalled the experience of one girl whose family came to a board meeting to discuss how she had been ostracized because she didn't want to participate in Halloween activities.

"If you have some who feel this (Halloween) is an obstruction, they shouldn't have to have it forced on their family," Franklin said.

At a school assembly Thursday at Bullis-Purissima the school's newsletter, "The Bear Facts," asked students if they would participate in the costume parade. Sixth-grader Krysta Accola said she "didn't see anyone who didn't have their hands up." She couldn't believe anyone had a problem with the holiday. Accola's classmate Robin Quill was upset about the Board's expected final decision.

"I don't think of Halloween as religious," she said. "Now we won't be allowed to put up decorations, and that's what we like to do."

Franklin said she was not surprised at the controversial aspect of the issue. "When you go against the flow, you're going to have repercussions," she said. "The board had to make a hard decision, and I think they will do what they feel is right."

Superintendent Marge Gratiot received approximately 50 phone calls in the early part of Thursday from parents and media. "I think most of the people on both sides have good reasons for why they're thinking what they are," she said. "I hope the board meeting will resolve things. I'm hoping it will calm them down rather then stir them up."