The Adams Township School Board prepares for its monthly meeting in Houghton County. The majority of the meeting consisted of the discussion regarding the weapons policy and concerns sent via email and social media in response to a picture from the school’s Halloween Parade. (Houghton Daily MIning Gazette photo by Ben Garbacz)

HOUGHTON — The Adams Township School District held its monthly board meeting in Houghton County on Wednesday.

The majority of the discussion was directed at the controversy focusing on a photograph that had circulated around social media. The photograph taken at the school’s Halloween parade depicted students dressed as Secret Service members carrying toy firearms with a campaign sign referring to then U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Many people who had come across the picture on social media had voiced anger at the incident with accusations laid at the school district’s feet that a policy regarding toy firearms was violated. During the meeting, however, the board had presented the entirety of the weapon policy to those in attendance to reveal that no action taken by the students nor school employees had violated any rules in the school’s policy manual.

While a rule is in place under weapons policy 5772 that bans all weapons and look-alike items from school grounds, there are exceptions to the rule. The exceptions include weapons carried by law enforcement personnel, items preapproved by the building principal as part of a class or presentation under adult supervision (excluding ammunition) and theatrical props used in appropriate settings. The board believes that since the children requested permission to bring the props and that the toy firearms were part of a costumed Halloween event that the exception to the rule was applicable to the situation.

The toy firearms were also approved and inspected by the school resource officer.

Two individuals came before the board bringing forth a multitude of social media messages and emails of school alumni and others which voiced displeasure and concern with the school allowing toy firearms into the area and for violating school policy.

While the school policy was not violated, the messages and the two residents who were present on behalf of the senders did bring up that the presence of fake firearms has put certain individuals at unease due to past school shootings across the country over the last several years. Those concerns were acknowledged and some members of the board understood the concerns, but pointed out that over the years that students have dressed in costumes that used toy firearms, such as hunters, police officers and military personnel, and that there was no objection from the public.

There was also a concern that state law was violated and that other local schools possess stricter policies, but the board claimed that each school district is able to create its own policy regarding the subject.

The board also noted that none of their members received any messages from parents of the school’s students regarding the incident. Many parents in attendance at the meeting voiced support for the school board and defended the children’s costumes. One parent who spoke before the board acknowledged himself as an alumnus and that he appreciated the board, administrators and students for following policy. The parent expressed that he believed the only reason that the picture gained traction on social media was due to the political element to the costumes, citing that he remembered students dressing in costumes with toy firearms when he attended the school as a child with no issue.

In regards to the policy, board President Darren Niemi said that the policy like all other school policies will be under review at the end of the school year.

“We’ll possibly get some better wording, in terms of the Halloween parade and theatrical as it says in (the policy manual),” Niemi said. “If we have to be a little more specific so there’s no concerns, that’s fine.”