District to set policy on school events

Controversy over the annual Holiday Bazaar held at Lowell Elementary School in town this month is prompting Watertown school officials to establish a formal districtwide policy on events and celebrations held on school campuses.

Superintendent Steven A. Hiersche told a group of parents and town leaders Wednesday morning that after the new School Committee takes office next month its policy subcommittee would draw up a comprehensive plan for ethnic and religious events, possibly including even birthdays.

Hiersche said concerns include making sure events don't leave students or teachers feeling excluded or that beliefs were being imposed on them. The panel, which will consult teachers, parents, and other residents, will also consider what is appropriate to take place during school hours.

The district currently has no such policy, said Hiersche.

A number of parents and residents remain upset by a decision made by former interim superintendent James Earley and upheld this year by Hiersche.

Last year, Earley bucked a longstanding tradition of permitting a one-day crafts bazaar at Lowell to open during school hours. A group of parents had complained that the event was religious in nature and not sufficiently educational. Earley allowed the bazaar to operate only in the evening. The bazaar benefits the PTO.

''It sounds like we banned it and we didn't," said Hiersche, noting that the bazaar was held on the evening of Dec. 2.

''I think it's political correctness," said Carole Roche, a parent who has been active for the past year in trying to get the administration to reinstate the bazaar during school hours. ''It's only 20 minutes a day, once a year."

Roche said only 5 percent of items sold at the bazaar were religious, that the rest were small, low-cost gifts like erasers, magnets, and pencils. Her group has suggested eliminating the vendors who sold religious goods, but school officials balked at going back to earlier hours.

The evening bazaar now features vendors selling higher-priced goods like cosmetics and jewelry to appeal to adults, said Roche. ''You've lost the whole meaning, the sweetness and innocence for the kids," she said.

Hiersche said he did not see limiting the bazaar's hours as giving way to political correctness, but rather as a decision to protect classroom time and avoid disruption during the school day. The bazaar ''really wasn't educational," he said.

''There's enough rumors out there that it's better to get it in the open," said Hiersche, referring to talk of a recent Ramadan-themed party at the Cunniff School being sanctioned by school officials, but not the Christian-based holiday bazaar. Hiersche said the Ramadan ''party" consisted of some parents in three classrooms showing students religious and cultural objects.

Christina Pazzanese can be reached at:cpazzanese@globe.com.