School says Hello Kitty Christmas tree can stay after all

A high school teacher in ME said she was recently asked by the principal to remove a pink plastic Christmas tree covered with Hello Kitty ornaments that she puts up each year.

He added that the pink tree was “therefore appropriate for the school setting”. “They’re places to teach children from all different backgrounds, from different religions, from different countries who are all in one place at one time to learn”.

Gordon said in her Facebook post and told reporters that having to take down the tree made her sad, especially since she had put up similar decorations in her classroom annually for most of her career without complaint.

The local news media took notice and followed up with Gordon.

Gordon told Bangor’s WLBZ she had decorated her classroom for the holidays for 30 years, with a tree as part of those decorations nearly every year.

Bangor’s superintendent Betsy Webb issued a statement Monday in response to the now-viral Facebook post explaining “The Bangor School Department educates students about culture, traditions and holidays through curriculum ties in English language arts, music, art, social studies and world languages” and that its goal is the educate students on becoming global citizens.

But two days later, Gordon received an email from Principal Paul Butler informing her the tree was no longer permitted because it may offend certain students.

“It just seems that in our quest to be tolerant of everything, we’ve become intolerant to everything”, an emotional Gordon told the Bangor Daily.

She also hopes this experience opens up a dialogue about what is appropriate and what is not during the holiday season.

Gordon said she has been decorating her classroom for 30 years.