No Confederate clothes allowed at Tomah schools

The Tomah school district has voted to join seven other schools in the Mississippi Valley Conference in banning the Confederate flag.

The board voted unanimously to approve the ban during a special meeting Monday.

Confederate flags and monuments have come under renewed scrutiny following the 2015 shooting of nine black church members in South Carolina and the 2017 deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Tomah Superintendent Cindy Zahrte says the matter was brought before the school board after several incidents at the high school, including someone letting the air out of a student’s tires in connection with the flag.

A community member and a high school student spoke against the ban during the Tomah board meeting, saying the move would limit students’ right to free speech.