During a special board meeting Monday night, the Austin School Board gave the final approval on the student handbook, but not without some dialog around how holidays are treated within the schools.
In approving the handbook, board members unanimously agreed to strike the section relating to the holidays and celebration so it could discuss more in the future on how it would approach the subject.
It read: “In the public school setting it’s important for us to carefully choose what we are teaching to our students both directly and indirectly, and that we are not endorsing certain holidays over another in a public way in our classrooms. As such, any parties or celebrations will not be tied to any specific holiday. Students whose families would prefer to excuse them from celebrations may do so and alternative accommodations will be arranged.”
It’s the latest following the district’s decision last school year to not observe Valentine’s Day in order to remain consistent across the district’s schools.
In the past, the decisions to celebrate were left up to principals in the individual schools, but the district shifted to a more consistent model in order to preserve inclusivity in all the schools.
However, in January of this year, Kathy Green asked to table the decision so that more discussion could be held after being approached by parents concerned by the move and that a tradition was being taken away.
On Monday night, Green expressed her frustration on how those discussions have gone, concerned that the board was n’t a part of the process like it should be.
She went on to say that these celebrations are an important part of a community.
“To me I think holidays are integral to a certain culture,” Green said. “That’s part of culture. That’s part of pride. That’s part of who we are. I find it hard to embrace the idea that we’re not going to embrace culture in the community.”
“We haven’t been able to have that conversation on this …” she added.
From the other side, Cece Kroc said that one of the sticking points were some holidays tied to religion and was concerned how the district should approach those in order to adhere to separation of church and state.
“These are holidays that stick to our Christian holidays and as such, as a public entity, we can’t put one above the other,” she said. “We can still have fun, but it has to be around an inclusive group.”
At the same time, there was some questions as to how to approach celebrations moving forward, questioning that without handbook guidance, where does the final say rest in terms of consistency across the schools?
In order to make sure the handbook is ready for the upcoming school year, the board agreed to approve the handbook and strike that section completely with an intention to return to the subject at a later date.
The board also released its evaluation summary Monday of Superintendent Dr. Joey Page, giving him positive reviews for his efforts in leading the district through significant change and growth.
The evaluation focused on Page’s leadership through the development of the district’s strategic plan noting the improvements that have come from this development.
“As a result of Dr. Page’s work, the district has seen improvement in graduation rates, efficient and effective use of district resources, and significant growth around strategic priorities,” the summation read. “The work completed in the 23-24 school year related to these goals will set up our continued work for the 24-25 school year.”
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