A Connecticut school district is facing backlash for removing both Columbus Day and Veterans Day from the school calendar following a Board of Education (BOE) vote, according to multiple reports.

Public school students in Stamford, Conn., will miss two U.S. holidays after the city's Board of Education voted 5-3 on Jan. 25 to remove the holidays from their calendars. Children will no longer be absent from school because of this. according to Stanford lawyer. The proposal came as a surprise on the night of the vote, but BOE Commissioner Joshua Esses filed a motion to remove the holiday from school calendars for two years, the paper reported. (Related: Schools spent millions of dollars on educational software during coronavirus; little was used)

Esses said the proposed 181-day school calendar is too long because state law requires 180 school days for students, The Stamford Advocate reported. Board members had originally proposed removing two Islamic holidays: Eid al-Fitr and the second day of Rosh Hashana. However, the paper said the proposal did not receive support from the remaining board members.

Prior to a final decision by the board, the issue was brought up at the Jan. 9 meeting, where member Versha Munshi-South suggested removing Columbus Day and Veterans Day. According to the paper, Munshisouth claimed that she “couldn't imagine” “many students” “observing Columbus Day” with their families.

Stamford City Council: Disagreements are brewing over the Stamford School Board's decision to remove Columbus Veterans Day from the holiday calendar.https://t.co/YFL1JX3uUi

— News12CT (@News12CT) January 26, 2024

“I can't imagine many students celebrating Columbus Day with their families on Columbus Day,” Munshi South said, as reported by the Stanford Advocate.

However, not all city school board members and local residents agreed with the school district's decision.

Alfredo Fusco, a founding member and veteran of the Stamford chapter of UNICO, the nation's largest Italian American service organization, called the decision a “gut punch.” according to To ABC 7 NY. (Related: 5 elementary school students hospitalized after ingesting fentanyl gummies)

“It was a gut punch. It was terrible. There was no trend,” Fusco said, the newspaper reported.

Esses argued that the two holidays could be implemented in line with the school's curriculum, but board member Becky Hamman expressed concerns about how Columbus is viewed by students. Hamann said at a meeting in early January that while there is already “curricular polarization” surrounding Columbus, there may also be a view to portraying the historical figure “as a villain,” according to the Stanford Advocate. The paper reported.

“There's a lot of polarization in the curriculum, and painting Columbus as a bad guy is polarizing, and I don't think you can do that publicly,” Hamann said. I consider him a hero,” he added.

But Mansi South said she observed a class at Dolan Middle School debating whether Columbus was a “hero or a villain,” according to the Stanford Advocate. Minami argued that if students were to get a day to celebrate him, it would send a “mixed message” because students do not recognize this historical figure as a “hero.”

According to the paper, “Students are researching the true history of Columbus using primary sources, and based on their study of primary sources, we can say that, no, they have not concluded that Columbus was a hero.” Professor Munshi South said. “I don't think it makes sense to teach students one thing in class and then take a day off on Columbus Day. It's a mixed message for students.”

The school board subsequently addressed the controversy, defending the decision and pointing out that other schools in the area also do not observe the holiday. according to To the New York Post (NYP).

“Stanford Public Schools already hosts many events honoring local veterans and we look forward to continuing that tradition on Veterans Day in 2024 and 2025,” a Stamford Public Schools spokesperson said. a representative told NYP.

“Additionally, our Teaching and Learning Department is working to develop programs related to Columbus Day that will be offered to students in commemoration of the federal holiday.”