To the editor:

Shouldn't schools be able to focus on educational issues without outside, non-educational distractions such as religious holidays?

School closings, calendars and schedules can and should be made without regard for religious practices. Governmental entities, including public schools, have no business publicizing, promoting, or treating with deference the interests of religion.

The Barrington School Committee seems to have assumed simplistically that we are either "Christians" or "Jews" with no understanding of our amazingly diverse religious backgrounds and heritages, including Quakers, Seventh Day Adventists, Zen Buddhists, Hasidic Jews, Reform Jews, Sunni Muslims, Russian Orthodox, Hindus, Wiccas, and Baha'is, to name a few. All with different holidays, practices, and rituals.

A study of religious holidays in the US found a total of 120, causing one wag to quip that if schools closed for all of them the kids would have about 3 days to actually be in school. Let's also not overlook the fact that in our increasingly secular society, the largest "Belief" group, the "Nones," may be spiritual, humanist, practice yoga,

or meditate, but they belong  to no religious body.

If a student needs to be absent for a religious reason, it can be handled as are absences for illness.

Keeping church and state separate by keeping all religious holidays and observances out of school schedules and calendars frees the schools to concentrate solely on what's best educationally for all of our children.

Moyne Cubbage

Barrington