No word yet in Raynham on school's Halloween parade

Raynham Elementary School has had front-page coverage in several newspapers as well as spots on television news for a report that the school principal was doing away with a 20-year tradition, the annual Halloween parade of first-graders in costume.

But Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School Committee Chairman Gordon Luciano said the reports are "nonsense." All school principals in the regional system had simply been asked by the School Committee to look at every event the schools put on during the school year and consider each in terms of safety and security.

"The media has made this look like it's some kind of statement of political correctness," Luciano said. Reports said school officials thought harvest fairs might be better than Halloween parades, since certain religious groups found the latter offensive.

"The parade has not been canceled, and to downplay a security review and question us because we're concerned over adults coming in dressed in costumes where they can't be identified is just mind-boggling," Luciano said.

He added parents don't seem to be too upset about the review. "I haven't had a single e-mail about it, and I've only gotten one phone call and that was just for information," Luciano said. "A decision has not yet been made, and the media is not going to drive the decision-making process in our school district."

CHRISTINE LEGERE