Harwood raises Pride flag

June 10, 2022 | By Cheryl Casey | Correspondent

The Pride flag flies at Harwood Union Middle/High School on Thursday afternoon below the U.S. flag on the school flagpole. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

The Harwood Unified Union School Board voted unanimously on Wednesday night to approve a request to fly the Pride flag at Harwood Union Middle/High School.

Board member Lisa Mason, of Moretown, made the motion to approve the request. She referred to the student letter that accompanied the request, stating, “I’m in strong support, and I’m really glad that [the student] took the bravery to come forward and write about [their] experience. I think that was extremely vulnerable and a lot of people will benefit from that.”

There were no comments of concern or opposition from either the board members or any members of the public who were in attendance, in person or remotely. 

The discussion amongst the board members otherwise focused on issues of policy and protocol in managing requests to fly a flag, prompted by Warren board member Jonathan Young’s question of whether the motion’s language could be changed to include the upcoming school calendar. 

Several other board members also asked for clarification such as whether the board could approve flying the flag for the remainder of the month, since June is Pride Month. Board member Ashley Woods, of Warren, pointed out that the second part of the request proposed “raising the Pride flag annually for student days in June.” 

Specifically, Mason’s motion was to “approve the flag request to raise the Pride Flag for the remainder of the school year,” which was slightly different than the language of the request which specified “June 9th and 10th, the remaining student days in June.”

It was unclear whether the flag would remain flying for Saturday’s graduation ceremony held outdoors on the school’s front lawn.

Mason said that the wording of the motion had “more to do with our policy. I don’t think we can approve it for an annual basis.”

Board Chair Kristen Rodgers, of Moretown, read aloud the pertinent section of the flag policy, which requires requests to include “a proposed time frame for raising and flying the flag – up to 4 months – and an indication of interest in renewing the request if there are no other flag requests.”

Rodgers noted that it doesn’t address whether the request could pertain to a subsequent year.  “If a group wanted to request to fly it again, then they could. That was my interpretation,” she added.

Waterbury board member Marlena Tucker-Fishman, work worked on drafting the flag policy last year, suggested that the time frame is for the current school year because the student body changes each year. “[The request] is supposed to be presented by the student body as someone that’s part of the school at the time. It doesn’t make sense to do it ahead of time,” she said. 

Mason noted that any policy can be amended, but that would be a process. In the meantime, the board ultimately focused on the days requested.  

“If we vote on approving what was asked,” said Kim Laidlaw, of Fayston, “and then if they want to ask again in the future, that’s great.”

The flag was added to the flagpole in front of Harwood Middle/High School during the day on Thursday while classes were in session. Co-Principal Meg McDonough in an email Thursday said the flag was hung without any special ceremony or student gathering. 

“The students only decided yesterday that if the board approved, they wanted the flag raised for now without ceremony but rather as an acknowledgment in the next two days that they are seen here as part of the student body,” McDonough said. “This came with additional feelings of gratitude for the community's recognition and greater celebrations during Pride month this year.”