..has a good editorial and LTEs addressing the matter:
St. Pete Times editorialIf ever there was a teachable moment, this was it. The board should have explained that using the school calendar to sanction some religious holidays but not others is a form of discrimination. Families already can keep their child home from school, without penalty, on the days at issue. It also was time for plain talk. The Monday after Easter has no religious significance; it is a travel day. And pastors and churchgoers who invoked the name of God to threaten the board with a cultural "battle" should be kept as far away from school policymaking as possible.
St. Pete Times LTEsMy thanks go to School Board member Doretha Edgecomb for having the courage to maintain the right and proper position on the subject of religious holidays appearing on the school calendar.
Her truly constitutional stand while facing some of our local fanatics and their moralistic, hypocritical threats revealed much of her character and warrant continued support. Sadly, the same cannot be said of most of her board co-members.
There is no worthy reason to continue these school holidays. Truly, we are not a "Judeo-Christian" nation, nor do we wish our government to represent us as such.
The Tuesday night reversal can only be viewed as bowing to religious minorities and caving in to their questionable political pressure to maintain the status quo. Sadly, these are not principles that will benefit our schools or the children in them.