Catholic student wants pride flag flown at his school too

A local Catholic school student wants to see pride flags flown at his school, too, following a decision by the public school board to fly the flags at elementary schools in Windsor-Essex for Pride month in June.

Angelo Lucier is a Grade 4 student at St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in River Canard.

"I think it's great, because it shows a lot of support and togetherness," he said, adding that he thinks all Catholic schools should fly the flag to show support for everyone.

As for those against the motion to fly flags at schools, Lucier said, "Opinions are opinions, but I think they should have the flag."

His mother, Kristine Mandato said their household has always been open-minded, gender-neutral and accepting of different sexual orientations.

"We just make it normal," she said. 

As for whether or not the family would consider appealing to the Catholic School Board directly on the matter, she said it's something she would encourage her son to do, if he decided he wanted to.

​In an email to CBC, a representative for the Catholic School Board said that the board has had a policy in effect since February 2017 stating that flag poles outside all of its schools are reserved for the Canadian flag. 

"However, requests to fly other special purpose flags inside our schools will be considered by the Director of Education," the email stated, adding that the board has not received any requests to fly any special purpose flags inside its schools.

Fulvio Valentinis, the chair of the board of trustees, says he's not aware of any trustee bringing forward a motion to discuss the matter, and that the last board discussion regarding flying flags at schools took place in 2017 when the flag policy was last reviewed.