The decision to make Good Friday a full day of school in the 2014-2015 school year was upheld on June 2, despite the efforts of some community members to persuade the joint committees to change their minds.
Some Christian Tri-Town residents left the Joint School Committee meeting angrily, with some of them lashing out at the committee, including Maggie McGee of Rochester, who called some committee members “atheists and non-religious” on her way out, adding that they would have to “answer to God one day.”
Both joint committees made a motion to rescind the March meeting vote that eliminated Good Friday as a day off, and the regional committee approved it, but it did not fly with the superintendency union side of the table, resulting in an impasse that blocked the rescission.
Chairman of Superintendency Union #55 Sharon Hartley said this had never happened before, and there was some confusion as to how to proceed after both sides disagreed – as well as some contention.
The matter was still up for discussion, and both sides of the issue spoke out about their concerns, mainly about the “data” that was presented, along with the data that was not available for consideration, such as a claim that the district’s attempt to eliminate Good Friday back in the ‘80s was a failure.
Both principals at Old Rochester Regional stated that during informal discussions with faculty and staff regarding Good Friday, an anonymous poll showed that roughly 25 percent of employees would take the day off as a personal day.
“That’s a huge number of professionals,” said committee member Christine Marcolini of Marion.
Committee member Robin Rounseville of Rochester said, for her, religion was the issue and the committee should not factor religion into the equation of crafting the school calendar.
“Strictly from a secular position,” stated Marion School Committee member Christine Winters, she reminded the committee that no one reached out to the community for input on the likelihood that they would keep their kids home on Good Friday. “How productive is that day going to be?”
We tried doing away with Good Friday 20 years ago, said Marion School Committee member Jay Pateakos. “And it failed miserably.” Rounseville said things have changed in 20 years.
ORR School Committee Chairman Jim O’Brien said Bourne eliminated Good Friday as a day off 14 years ago.
“They don’t have a problem at all,” said O’Brien.
Mattapoisett member Jim Muse said he voted in favor of making Good Friday a regular school day, saying, “It is simply a religious day of observance … and this is a public school system.” He continued, “A public school should not have one single religion identified.”
Discussion among school committee members continued before allowing some of the dozens of residents in attendance to address their concerns.
Newly elected ORR committee member Cindy Johnson said she supported her fellow colleagues in their decision to make Good Friday a full day of school.
“There should be a separation between the sacred and the secular,” said Johnson.
Isabel Gomes McCann, a resident of Rochester, identified herself as “profoundly Christian,” and spoke in favor of the committee’s decision to make Good Friday a regular day. She said Good Friday is treated like Ash Wednesday, in that there is no “day of obligation.”
She also said she was offended by others’ claims that the Good Friday change was “an attack on religion,” when “in Libya, a woman was stoned to death because of being a Christian.”
“It’s just a subtle way of removing God from our schools,” said McGee, who gathered about 700 signatures opposing the decision to nix Good Friday. “It’s not okay.”
Marion resident Joseph Napoli said he was on the committee in the ‘80s when it made Good Friday a school day and “two-thirds” of all the teachers did not show up, depleting the substitute teacher budget.
“I see a division of people,” said Napoli. “You’re dividing people.”
As Marion resident Shaun Walsh pointed out, the district only keeps its records for seven years, so the data behind the prior move to change Good Friday is not available.
Walsh said he called the superintendent of Bourne Public Schools who, according to Walsh, told him that out of 300 staff, only one teacher and two paraprofessionals requested the day off.
“I don’t think 25 percent of our staff are going to do that to our students,” said Walsh.
David Pierce of Mattapoisett said he was disappointed by the decision and added that the possibility of 25 percent of teachers taking the day off creates “a secular purpose for taking that day off.”
Former Rochester School Committee member Michelle Cusolito, who voted for eliminating the Good Friday holiday, said this is a public school and Good Friday is a religious holiday.
“Many of you probably go to work on that day,” said Cusolito. “Why can’t teachers go to work that day?”
Superintendent Doug White admitted he could not guess what will happen next Good Friday, but his concerns were about “safety and education.”
Mattapoisett School Committee Chairman Jim Higgins, who was late for the meeting and missed the first vote to rescind the prior decision, motioned to reconsider the motion to rescind the decision, which was again voted down.
Some committee members commented that they were insulted by some of the remarks that some residents made that evening, including O’Brien who defended the board against accusations that the committee “ducked this issue.”
Also during the meeting, the joint committee voted in favor of recording and televising their meetings beginning with the next school year.
The committee also conducted its annual superintendent’s evaluation.
By Jean Perry
