Community Outcry After Pride Flag Removed At Sonoma Valley School

SONOMA VALLEY, CA — After a Pride flag was removed from a local school, protests erupted, leading school officials to restore the symbol of LGBTQ inclusion just days later.

The flag, installed on the Sonoma Valley High School campus in 2019, was removed Friday at the order of Sonoma Valley Unified School District President David Bell.

Flag supporters said the removal undermined the school’s diversity commitment and harmed LGBTQ students. By Tuesday, the flag was scheduled to be fying again from the flagpole.

Bell apologized in an open letter, saying the issue was not displaying the Pride flag, but whether it should be the only flag displayed.

In a letter to the community, he wrote, “It is my mistake and for that I apologize. In my opinion, the fundamental issue here is not one of “if” the pride flag should be flown. It is one of, should the pride flag should be the “only” flag flown?”

Bell said his decision was prompted by a comment about the choice to fly the Pride flag every day and none representing other groups, like victims of 9-11 or Future Farmers of America.

"The purpose of our flags should be to celebrate, to honor and to educate. I believe that we should design a policy that does this for all students," Bell said in the letter.

Advocates like Lisa Storment of Wake Up Sonoma called the comparison "tone-deaf," because the Pride flag is a symbol of inclusion designed for the Sonoma Valley Dragons's football team, which promotes student pride as well as LGBTQ pride.

That makes it distinctive with a particular meaning. She said the superintendent: "Just doesn’t really seem to understand that there is a significant inclusion message that’s attached to the flag for these students.”

Another woman said on Facebook that for many Sonoma Valley High students, especially those who are LGBTQ+, "a Pride flag is not political. It is a visible signal that they are safe, respected, and welcome."

Bell said he personally supports the flag, but plans to bring a broader discussion of campus flags to the school board in March.

In advance of the March 12 school board meeting, Wake Up Sonoma is planning to take up the issue at the Jan. 26 City Council meeting and the Feb. 12 School Board meeting.