An affluent New Jersey school district has reversed its policy banning Halloween parties in the name of inclusivity — although it is still urging principals to call the festivities “fall celebrations.’’
The South-Orange Maplewood School District — which includes 11 schools and roughly 6,800 students in leafy Essex County — last year began barring any Halloween-themed events, a move that landed like a rotten pumpkin smashing against a stoop.
Even Gov. Phil Murphy mocked the decision, tweeting, “Seriously? We can’t let kids celebrate Halloween? Give me a break.”
Then-district Superintendent Ronald Taylor told NJ.com at the time that the no-fun prohibition was enacted out of sensitivity to families whose culture eschews celebrating Halloween and to avoid “creating indirect and unintentional financial hardships for students and families.”
But newly anointed Superintendent Jason Bing now says that deciding how to celebrate the late-October time will be left up to individual school principals, as long as no student is excluded because of socioeconomic status or religious beliefs.
Still, the district says it would prefer events aren’t touted as specifically for Halloween.
“We encourage ‘fall celebrations,’ ” district spokesman Eshaya Draper told the outlet, adding that any festivities held will be “as general and public and friendly as possible so all the students can feel they’re involved.”
Principals can opt for a good-old-fashioned Halloween party, but, “There’s not going to be any ‘othering’ of our students,” Draper insisted.
Many local parents told The Post they were glad to see the district’s about-face ensuring their kids would no longer be automatically deprived of the key childhood touchstone of celebrating Halloween at school.
“It’s just an activity for kids to have fun. Why not have Halloween?” said Donovan Coney, 44, whose 10-year-old son, Lex, is a fifth-grader at Delia Bolden Elementary School in Maplewood.
“If you don’t want to dress up, don’t dress up. As long as no one’s forcing the kids to do it, then leave it alone,” Coney said.
The mother of a Delia Bolden first-grader who asked to remain anonymous because she’s a teacher in the district was put off by the fact that the district ever banned Halloween to begin with.
“They have good intentions, but they’re taking away from the fun thing we had when we were little. When we were kids, we had Halloween, and it was just fun,” the woman said. “You didn’t have a label. Nobody was offended. You came to school in your Halloween costume, and there was candy, and it was great.
“They’re making a big thing out of nothing in the name of good intentions, and it grows and grows and grows, and you end up with people fighting.”
Other parents said they were good with the change, too — as long as it meant everybody was included in the fun.
“I believe that a ‘fall festival’ works because everybody has their own ways of celebrating, and as long as there are festivities and no one’s offended, that’s what matters most,” said Magda Civil, whose 5-year-old daughter, Paige, is in kindergarten at Delia Bolden.
“Religion-wise, my family’s never celebrated Halloween, and we’ve never participated in costumes, so I can understand it from my own religious background,” she said.
“But I can also see it from the other perspective where you enjoy the festivities and the costumes,” she added, calling the district’s new plan “a good compromise.”
At Tuscan Elementary School in Maplewood, Maggie M., whose son Nicholas is in first grade, said it is “great” that a Halloween celebration would be allowed this year.
“I grew up in this town, and every year we got dressed up at school,” Maggie said. “I thought it was excessive when they took it away, though at the same time, I respect everyone’s beliefs. But I’m glad they brought it back. Nicholas will be dressed as Batman this year.”
Another Tuscan mother who asked to remain anonymous called Halloween “sacred” to many people in town because of its nostalgia.
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions. This is an affluent community, and parents — most of whom are Democrats, I should add, who will do anything for their kids — were revolted at having it taken away and ended up looking like bigots,” the mom said. “It was a stupid, stupid idea to take Halloween away to begin with.”
One anonymous dad added of the previous ban, “I think it’s boring, and I’m sick of it.
“Cancel culture’s getting a little long in the tooth. Just let the kids celebrate Halloween.”