Framingham School Committee Divided on Columbus Day

FRAMINGHAM, MA- The Framingham School Committee joined the national discussion of whether to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous People's Day at Wednesday's meeting. No vote was cast on changing the name in the school calendar but the discussion showed varying opinions on the topic within the committee.

Gloria Pascual of District 8, the committee's vice chairwoman and head of the Racial Equity subcommittee, brought the Columbus Day topic to the board after members of the public discussed it in her subcommittee meetings. "I'm glad that there will be a discussion but as we've seen, not only online but in the community and behind the scenes in our emails, we've gotten tremendous feedback from this; and this has come directly from the community, the teachers, the students," Pascual said.

Committee member Geoffrey Epstein of District 6 brought up the point that the issue of renaming the holiday is one that should be discussed with the city and community. "I think this should be a community discussion. I don't feel qualified as one of nine here to decide on these kinds of things," Epstein said.

Another component of the discussion was how to proceed with curriculum surrounding Columbus or Indigenous People's Day. Committee chair Adam Freudberg brought up the curriculum facet and how it factors into the discussion. "That's what I care about, making sure that the curriculum is reflecting the facts and reflecting the great diversity of this city and reflecting the fairly new Massachusetts State standards," Freudberg said.

Framingham Superintendent Robert Tremblay looked for a middle ground in the calendar discussion, suggesting the committee add Indigenous People to the holiday name alongside Columbus in an effort to include everyone.

On the topic of curriculum, Tremblay said the schools are already moving in a direction that includes the narrative of indigenous people. "I'm not terribly concerned from a curriculum aspect that there will be some coaching that we'll work through with our team to make sure the conversations are more broad and not singularly focused on Columbus Day. So I'm not concerned on that," Tremblay said.

The committee voted 6-2 to delay the vote until its next meeting on Jan. 2. Pascual and Tracey Bryant, of District 9, were the two opposing votes. Noval Alexander, of District 5, was absent.

Pascual voiced frustration with the committee's claims of not having enough time to consider the proposal before coming to a vote. Pascual called for a vote on Nov. 13 but was told members needed prior notice. She said committee members asked her to postpone the discussion until after the Fuller Project vote and was prepared to discuss and vote on the calendar holiday at Wednesday night's meeting.

Freudberg said the decision to wait on a formal vote was agreed upon by the majority of the committee and brought forward as a compromise for members who didn't feel ready to vote.

Framingham is not the first to consider replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day. Somerville Public Schools made the switch this year with the support and backing of the city mayor. Both Pascual and Freudberg said they welcome officials from schools like Somerville to come to join their discussion on how they properly implemented the calendar change.

Wednesday night's meeting saw teachers and students deliver public comment on both sides of the debate.“This may seem like a small matter to some, but it’s a part of a big picture that’s about disregarding a group of people and that’s not a value of Framingham,” said Framingham High student Pauline Ongiro, a representative of the Black Student Union.

The next School Committee meeting will discuss the topic further and welcome presentations from community members on either side of the debate to weigh in before coming to a formal vote on the calendar holiday.

Photo Credit: Framingham Government Channel