Santa Snubbed from School Concert

Does Old St. Nick belong at a public elementary school’s winter concert?

One Cambridge principal doesn’t think so.

Jennifer Ford, principal of the K-5 Andrew Peabody School, didn’t invite Santa Claus to the school’s recent concert, which he’s attended in the past, according to the Boston Globe.

According to parents at the school, Kris Kringle’s absence was based on a single parent complaint.

“I don’t think it’s right,” Robert Thompson, who has two kids at the school, told CBS Boston. “It seems like that’s what’s going on in America – the squeaky wheel gets oil. It’s a shame.”

Some parents said they don’t see Santa as a religious symbol; some supported Ford’s decision; and some were indifferent.

Cambridge Superintendent Jeffrey Young backed his principal. He said there are plenty of Santas around (shhh!), and he’s more concerned with the students’ education, according to the Globe.

Ford wrote in an email to parents that Father Christmas will be at the school’s family sing-along on Dec. 23 but students will be given the option to skip that event to play games and read books in the library instead, according to the report.

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