Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
In September 2022, the Connetquot School District, namely Connetquot High School, gained national notoriety over debate of perhaps one of the most contentious hot-button issues of the current political zeitgeist: pride flags.
A symbol of the LGBT community, outrage was sparked when Connetquot senior staff and the School Board asked a math teacher to remove a “progress pride” flag from her classroom. The progress pride flag differs from the conventional rainbow-styled pride flag, in that it includes symbols and colors to represent the transgender community as well as “communities of color.”
Negotiations came to a head when hundreds descended on Connetquot High School’s board meeting regarding the subject. LGBT Network and its president David Kilmnick were on hand as well, with Kilmnick serving the individual board members with lawsuits mid-meeting.
Now, over two years later, a judge has ruled that Connetquot’s policy on the f lag should be heeded. U.S. District Court Judge Hector Gonzalez ruled in favor of the district, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims of discrimination, a hostile work environment, and a violation of constitutional rights.
The case started when math teacher, Sarah Ecke, refused to remove the progress pride flag, which was positioned adjacent to an American flag that students would address when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Her classroom was also the base of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club. The classroom also had a classic rainbow pride flag hanging across the back wall, facing towards the front of the room.
After Ecke refused to remove the flags, Connetquot Central School District issued a policy that only the U.S. and New York flags could be hung in classrooms.
The first complaint was that there was no American flag up, but when we investigated, there was one, but very small, in a regularly-sized classroom,” Board member and at-the-time Board President Jaclyn Napolitano-Furno (pictured right) told The Messenger. “This is a math classroom for special education, it doesn’t have more than fifteen desks. It had a giant progress pride flag on the right side right next to the American flag, and a gigantic wall-to-wall pride flag behind on the back wall. Nothing else was on the walls at all, no posters, no formulas.”
Napolitano-Furno says that parents complained that their children have special needs to begin with and have trouble learning, and the room became more distracting.
“The superintendent said to make the room more neutral. We asked the teacher if she would take it down; she refused,” said Napolitano-Furno. “The superintendent used a policy to say that the flag was against policy and that it was political in nature.” Napolitano-Furno says that a flag specialist said that “any flag represents politics by their nature.”
Napolitano-Furno says that parents complained that their children have special needs to begin with and have trouble learning, and the room became more distracting.
“The superintendent said to make the room more neutral. We asked the teacher if she would take it down; she refused,” said Napolitano-Furno. “The superintendent used a policy to say that the flag was against policy and that it was political in nature.”
Napolitano-Furno says that a flag specialist said that “any flag represents politics by their nature.” However, flags apart from the American and New York State flags can be hung, but in the proper context, as district policy already allows. Different flags can be hung when they’re curriculum-based in nature, such as those of foreign nations during foreign language studies, or a 9/11 commemorative flag during social studies.
The same policy remains intact for the pride flag, but during GSA meetings. The GSA corkboard in the hallway, according to Napolitano-Furno, is free to display the flags and other imaging that do not fall under curriculum-based policies.
Those on the side of Ecke, as well as two other teachers, Christopher Dolce and Shinaide McAleavey-Polley, who joined on as plaintiffs, countered that if the pride flags were to be removed, then the parking spot of a senior who painted his spot with a “Thin Blue Line” flag should be painted over. The district fulfilled the request.
“But the judge ruled that it’s not the same,” said Napolitano-Furno. “A classroom is an educational atmosphere. The parking lot is where seniors paint their freedom of expression. They’re entitled to paint their spots.”
Napolitano-Furno also says that several months ago, the LGBT Network, who signed on as a plaintiff, discontinued their case when asked to provide all of their documentation. She also says that the district was not informed when the network pulled out of the lawsuit.
“What they lost was their ability to have a flag in a classroom if it did not follow district policy. It’s not freedom of expression; flags in nature are political,” said Napolitano-Furno. “When a teacher teaches in the classroom of a public school, it’s not their property. They’re working in a school district building; you have to follow the district’s policies. If you feel deeply about having these flags, you can hang them during your committee meeting, but it has to be taken down for classroom learning. The kids who complained about the distraction have the right to learn in an educational environment that’s free from any kind of distractions”
Ecke remains a teacher in Connetquot CSD.
“Ecke tried to claim that the school district did something to her and that she lost time and money and was subject to emotional distress. She was always in school, she ran the GSA, she lost no money, she had no issues with her classes. Nothing came of it other than her suing the district because she wanted the flag back up,” said Napolitano-Furno.
At the October 2022 board meeting, there were allegations of litter boxes being presented in the school bathrooms for kids who allegedly “identified” as animals, cats being the most predominant assertion. Napolitano-Furno says that nothing of that sort has been implemented or entertained at the school.
However, Napolitano-Furno does say that the LGBT Network is quite forward with its marketing, with the organization’s number and information on how to join being advertised on the Network’s literature, which can be found on the GSA corkboard in the hallway.
“Nobody had a problem with that; it’s been up for months,” said Napolitano-Furno.
Napolitano-Furno also speaks of division within the school board.
“That’s why they don’t want to put out a statement. The only two who are willing to put out a statement are Jackie DiLorenzo and myself,” she said of the lawsuit’s results. “We want everyone to know. Community members have a right to transparency. It’s not about winners and losers; nobody really wins because the kids are put in the middle and you don’t want to make anyone upset. We wanted the kids to have their flags up for their club, and we wanted the kids during the educational process during the day to be free of distractions. This is what happens when teachers don’t want to compromise.”
Napolitano-Furno also asserts that political disagreement wasn’t the crux of the issue.
“We can disagree on political items, but we can’t have them in schools where kids don’t feel comfortable. Our schools are supposed to be apolitical,” she said.
The judgement came down before the federal government could get involved, leaving President Donald Trump’s (R-FL) executive order banning non-U.S. flags from being flown from government buildings, but that EO wouldn’t have affected this specific case in Connetquot.
“Schools are governed by the state, not the federal government,” said Napolitano-Furno. “This was based on the case itself, regardless of who the president is.”
To the point of First Amendment rights, Gonzalez wrote, “It is not clear what standard applies to the facts in this case, as neither the Supreme Court nor the Second Circuit has decided which test would apply to a secondary school teacher’s expressive speech in the classroom setting.”
Of adverse employment allegations, Gonzalez wrote, “To the extent Plaintiffs argue that a heavier burden was placed on them by having to remove the pride flags and stickers, and on Ecke by having to modify the permission slip for the GSA Trip, such actions do not rise to the level of workload that is ‘disproportionately heavy’ to ‘constitute an adverse employment action.’”
The “permission slip” in question regards the district’s requirement of Ecke to modify the permission slips for a student trip to an LGBT Youth Conference. Ecke claimed discrimination as she was the only teacher required to do so.
The same policies remain in place at Connetquot Central School District, but the plaintiffs argue further legal action remains on the table, with attorney Andrew Lieb, of Smithtown, requesting reconsideration and taking all advised options.