LETTER | Superintendent responds to PRIDE flag concerns

EDITOR’S NOTE | The following is a response from Biddeford’s superintendent of schools regarding an op-ed column that was submitted by Kelly Burt of Biddeford. (Should a PRIDE flag be displayed in an elementary school, Biddeford Gazette, Sept. 2, 2026)

Thank you for writing, and for taking the time to outline your thinking.

We agree on more than we disagree. Inclusion does show up in how a teacher treats kids day to day, not in what’s on the wall. If this particular teacher were kind to some students and cold to others, no flag would fix that.

Where I see it differently is the phrase identity-based symbol.

I understand why it’s being used, but I don’t think it fits what’s actually hanging in that room. That flag isn’t asking a third grader to adopt a belief or to be anything. It’s telling the handful of kids in that building who are being raised by two moms or two dads that their family isn’t going to be treated as odd in art class.

That’s not an ideology. That’s a kid knowing they can talk about their life like everyone else.

I’d also say our classrooms have never been blank. We put up family photos, flags of the countries our students come from, work about the holidays and plenty about Biddeford’s Franco heritage.

Every one of those is tied to somebody’s identity, and I’ve never had a parent tell me they broke neutrality. I understand this one feels different to you. I’m telling you honestly that when I look at the wall, I don’t see a different category.

The other thing I’d offer is that there’s no neutral option here. Putting it up says something and taking it down says something too, and the kids it’s meant for would hear the second one loud and clear.

I’m not willing to send that message, so I’m not going to have it removed. That’s my call, not the teacher’s.

“There’s no neutral option
here. Putting it up says something
and taking it down says something too,
and the kids it’s meant for would
hear the second one loud and clear.”

Regarding your request for guidelines, that one isn’t mine to decide. We don’t currently have a policy that lists approved classroom displays, and policy is set by the Biddeford School Committee, not by me. If you want that considered, the right place to say so is directly to them.

Our next meeting is September 9 at 5 p.m. and there’s a public comment period near the end. You’re welcome to come and speak, and I’d encourage it.

In the meantime, the one line I hold is elections. Campaign signs, candidate names and ballot questions come down, because staff shouldn’t be influencing how a family votes.

I know this isn’t the answer you asked for. You and your family are welcome in our schools, and disagreeing with me on this doesn’t change that one bit. If you’d like to sit down and talk it through before the 9th, I’m glad to. Just tell me when.

Thank you,

JEREMY RAY | Superintendent, Biddeford School System

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