Legal Concerns Prompt Removal Of LGBTQ+ Stickers From Long Valley Schools

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The Superintendent of Washington Township Schools updated the public on the status of the "Safe Zone" rainbow stickers that are displayed around Long Valley Middle School.

Following an outpouring of public comments demanding the removal of the stickers, Superintendent Peter Turnamian announced the decision to remove the stickers and replace them with a new campaign idea.

Concerned parents first raised the issue of the stickers at a recent board meeting, believing that the nature of the stickers was exclusionary because the depiction of the rainbow only signaled out one group.

At Tuesday's reorganization meeting, one parent spoke up asking what steps the board had taken since the meeting to address the public's concerns. "We left it that it was going to be brought up with legal to see if it was something that was violating anything," resident Jeri Cenziper said.

Turnamian responded by recounting what the school district's legal team had advised the board to do in response to the criticism.

"Ultimately, the advice of legal counsel was to have them come down," Turnamian said.

The legal team was concerned about two things: the voluntary nature of how the stickers were first implemented in the school and how using a specific symbol could expose the district to accusations of favoritism.

According to Turnamian, the stickers were created by middle school students to ensure that LGBTQ+ students felt safe at school, and participation in the initiative was never mandatory for all school members.

The goal of the new initiative dubbed the "Portrait of a Panther," is to create one symbol that represents all middle school students, ensuring that the school is a safe space for all. "Ultimately, the 'Portrait of a Panther' will define three to four core values, which will become the pillars of our ongoing SEL curriculum," Turnamian said.

While many parents had previously spoken out against the stickers, some residents felt that the current initiative was already doing a good job of including all children. Colleen Lindert, a local teacher, stated that the image of a rainbow does not imply that it only applies to LGBTQ students.

"I asked my daughter, who is not as brave to come here tonight because she was actually intimidated, what the rainbow sticker means to her. She is in the middle school, and she said 'it means everyone is welcome, everyone is included.' That is what the rainbow is," resident Marlaina Chiddo said.

With the new initiative, students will be in charge of designing the sticker once more, but this time the school wants to ensure that it is a single common symbol that can represent all students.

The "Portrait of a Panther" initiative was already in the works, according to Turnamian, but the current situation regarding the LGBTQ+ stickers has prompted the school to move the new initiative forward.