A decision about religious holidays by the Board of Education in Millburn Township, New Jersey, has sparked controversy.
A few months ago the sizeable Hindu community in the upscale township, noted for the quality of its schools, petitioned the board to grant a holiday for Diwali. They presented a petition supported by 500 adults from 250 families living in the township.
Rather than taking a decision on the request, the nine-member board recently voted 6-3 for a new policy -- to take a ballot on the issue of all religious holidays.
Good Friday and the Jewish Rosh Hashanah are already school holidays. But in the new scheme of things, Christians and Jews have to submit a petition and vote in the ballot. Every three years, the board will review the numbers and take a fresh decision.
“This is an insensitive decision dividing the communities,” said Dr Jyoti Sharma, who -- along with attorney Padmaja Chinta -- has been at the forefront of the fight for a Diwali holiday.
“We asked to add Diwali as a holiday and never asked to remove the existing ones. The Hindus in Millburn-Short Hills have been working for the past eight months to get Diwali added to the school calendar. The board has finally responded with a proposal which we strongly believe will divide our community.”
According to the new policy communities have to submit a petition signed by 500 adult district residents of voting age, requesting closing of school on a specific day because significant number of students will be absent on that day.
After validation of the signatures on the petition, the board will set up an online ballot during the 2014-2015 school year. Each family will have one vote for each of their children registered as a student in the district.
If the results indicate that the percentage of anticipated absence is expected to exceed 15 percent of the student population on a particular day, the board would determine whether there is a need to close schools on that day.
Even after the ballot, the final decision will rest with the board.
The Millburn School District has five elementary schools, one middle school and one high school under it, with almost 5,000 children enrolled in them.
“Basically,” Sharma said, “they are asking to get a petition signed by 500 people to add Diwali on the ballot and then get votes from parents of 15 percent of the student population.”
The Chinese also want a holiday for the Lunar New Year. The Hindu and Chinese communities constitute about 10 percent each of the school population.
Since there are about 5,000 students, each community should get about 750 votes of parents of the students to reach the 15 percent threshold.
Sharma said there are about 400 Hindu families in the township and more are moving there because of the schools and the large Hindu community, though the taxes are very high.
“Though we have a large presence in the township, it does not mean that from every family children are going to school,” Sharma said. “Some are already graduated and moved on, some have not enrolled yet. It is difficult to reach the threshold of 15 percent at any point. Moreover, each community may have to prove their eligibility every three years.”
The board says people from other communities too can vote for Hindus and vice versa. But it may not be practical, Padmaja Chinta felt. It is much easier if the schools count the number of students from each community rather than go for a ballot.
On the nine-member board, Westfall-Kwong, Dr Rupali Wadhwa and Raymond Wong voted against the policy revision. Wong, whose wife is of Indian origin, said he celebrates Diwali with family and recognises its importance.
During the meeting Jeffrey Waters, the board president, reportedly said the holiday closing decision was among the most challenging he had to make during his two terms on the board.
Regina Truitt, board program chairwoman, too said the decision was one of the toughest she had to make. She said significant absenteeism was the only valid reason for closing schools and the 15 percent threshold was decided after consulting with teachers, students, and members of the administration. Westfall-Kwong said the proposal set the bar too high.
Wadhwa, the only Indian American on the board, did not reply to calls and e-mails from India in New York. During the deliberations, she said, she was glad that the proposal included a mention about cultural diversity. The policy revision, she was quoted as saying by local media, apparently was decided based on the personal observances of committee members rather than community input.
She said it was unfair that the 250 Hindu families who already signed a petition have to do the same again. She said it was never the intention of those supporting Diwali to revoke already existing school holidays and called this unfair to those observing these holidays.
When the Hindus asked for a Diwali holiday, the board asked them to explain its significance and provide proof that a majority of Hindus celebrate it, which the community did.
The significance of Diwali was debated and discussed in every board meeting for the past eight months. The community has fulfilled the board’s requirements, Sharma and Chinta said.
During the public discussion, Jack Ouyong, president of the Millburn-Short Hills Chinese Association, said the proposed policy change was dividing the community by pitting one holiday against another.
Image: Diwali fireworks over New York