A New Jersey School Board changed its controversial plan to eliminate the names of holidays from the school board's official calendar following a fierce parental outcry.
Roughly 40 speakers stood up against the measure during a meeting with the Randolph Board of Education before the board voted 8-1 to reinstate the names.
Earlier in the month, the same board voted to replace all the holiday names with the phrase "day off," after parents complained about the change of Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day.
Soon backlash from the decision amassed. One parent, Tom Tatem, even launched a petition blasting the board for eliminating the holiday names without sufficient parental input.
James Jacobi, a Randolph Township father of three, said, according to The Daily Wire, "It's not about being the loudest to get your way, it's really about learning that this needs to be a transparent and accountable and collaborative process with the town that you live in. And that's one of the biggest messages we were giving the board last night, consistently across 40 different speakers. And that's what they really need to come and think about."
In Tatem's case, he was concerned that the board would be eliminating holiday names such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Tatem's petition, which drew 5,000 signatures, said, "They got the message. They reversed course on their decision, which is very much appreciated."
Tatem's petition notably contributed to the overturning of the board's position.
However, Tatem added, "Truth be told, they've lost the trust of our community and I feel between a mixture of their arrogance and incompetence that they're not really the best people to proceed forward in helping to rebuild and help our community heal."
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