Community Corner

American Flag Posted Once Again on Haddonfield BOE Bulletin Board

The flag returned a day ago after a week of protest.

An American flag is posted once again on the bulletin board in front of the Haddonfield school superintendent’s office just over a week after a controversy over the removal of an older flag.

On March 10, school board Administrator Andrew Hall asked Haddonfield Patch to stop using a file photo of the district administration bulletin board that had a 3-by-2-inch, window-decal type American flag thumbtacked on it.

“After one of your articles someone complained about the flag in the case and we had it removed immediately,” Hall wrote in an email.

Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nearly two dozen Haddonfield Patch readers criticized the decision in comments posted on the site and vowed to call the board of education to complain until the flag was replaced. The flag reappeared between Friday noon and Saturday afternoon. Board President Steve Weinstein informed Haddonfield Patch in an email Saturday that a new flag had been posted on the bulletin board.

The new flag is about the same size as the old, but appears to be cardboard or plastic and screwed into the board, as opposed to thumbtacked in.

Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hall said he made the decision to remove the flag on his own. He declined to say why he decided the flag was “inappropriate” and needed to be removed. He also declined to say who complained about the flag and why.

School Superintendent Richard Perry said then there was no board decision made regarding the flag and "we don't even know why it was in there." Hall said, "It was put in there 25 years ago."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here