Video: Emotional Crowd Protests Halloween Ban

Despite a protest at Monday night's meeting, the school board backed a decision by the district's superintendent to ban any Halloween festivities.

Puyallup School District officials decided to cancel festivities to stop losing instructional time and to avoid offending believers in the Wiccan religion, a spokeswoman said last week.

"It takes time and when kids dress up in costumes it's a distraction. It takes the focus away from learning," said Karen Hansen, a district spokeswoman.

"The actual party might only be an hour but activities getting ready for it, the excitement and focus on Halloween, takes away from our instructional time," Hansen told The Associated Press.

Wiccans who have met with school officials have not asked for cancellation of Halloween events, she said. They are entitled to protection like other religions under district rules.

"But they do ... express displeasure with witches, with pointy noses and witches flying on broomsticks, and that offends them and we don't want to be offensive to anyone," she said.

Parents at Maplewood were notified Wednesday that students may not wear or bring costumes to school on Oct. 29. Woodland Elementary School canceled a kindergarten costume parade but no other schools were affected, Hansen said.

Many schools in Puyallup and elsewhere have already changed to seasonal "harvest festivals," she added.