NBC New York’s Chris Jose reports.
Just as Pride Month begins, there's an uproar in a New Jersey borough after the district superintendent ordered a Pride lawn sign removed from school grounds.
The controversy centers on Westwood Regional Middle School in Westwood, a town where the LGBTQ signs depicting the Pride flag are displayed outside of homes. But around the corner at the school, the same signs were ordered to be taken down just a day after it was placed on the lawn.
"This is something that’s real, it’s something that’s OK," said high school senior MacKenzie Fox. "Just to have a sign out there tells us this is a safe space. That we do belong and our sexuality and our gender, whatever it is, is valid."
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Fox is a student representative to the school board. She started an online petition asking the superintendent to bring back the sign and allow it on school grounds.
"I know I have the support of my teachers, students and classmates, I just wish the administration would do the same," said Fox.
So far, more than 1,000 people have signed the petition. Fox says the lawn sign was placed outside the middle school last week in preparation for Pride Month.
"He had told them the signs violated the flag policy and he has been the one to tell the principal to take them down," Fox said.
Last month, Westwood’s Board of Education passed a policy only allowing the American and New Jersey state flag to be displayed outside of schools. The policy does not prevent Pride flags from being displayed inside — as evidenced by multiple Pride flags being seen hanging on school windows on Friday.
Michael Pontillo, Westwood School Board President commented on the decision limiting what flags can be displayed last month during a board meeting.
"Nobody is up here saying to a principal ‘No, that flag will not fly in the school.’ Last year, there were flags all over the school and there’s nobody that’s going to prevent that from happening again this year," said Pontillo.
When reached, Interim Superintendent Kenneth Rota did not comment. The new policy doesn’t address banners or signs outside, but Fox told NBC New York that the superintendent told her a sign which depicts a flag falls in the same category.
"Lawn signs are not flags and it should not apply at all," Fox said.
The school board president told NBC New York over the phone that he deferred all questions to the superintendent for comment.
