School board denied bid to close schools on Lunar New Year. Why proponents have new hope

QUINCY – In April, when the School Committee voted 4-2 not to mark Lunar New Year with a day off from classes, supporters of the holiday swallowed their disappointment, determined to renew their advocacy next year.

They may not have to wait that long.

At the May 6 City Council meeting, Councilor-at-large Nina Liang introduced a law that would "recognize the Lunar New Year holiday by honoring the day with the closure of all Quincy Public Schools." The ordinance committee voted unanimously in favor of the measure, sending it to the full body for a vote as soon as May 20.

Why Liang introduced a law to honor Lunar New Year in Quincy schools

Speaking after the committee vote, Liang fought back tears as she talked about the importance of the action.

"I always knew I belonged here," said Liang, a lifelong Quincy resident, daughter of Chinese immigrants and the city's first Asian American city council president. "But to have that validated by the government of this city – to say, 'you are accepted here, you belong here.'"

Liang said the measure is particularly important given "recent hate crimes against our community." According to the Pew Research Center, reports of discrimination and violence towards Asian Americans increased since the COVID outbreak in 2020, when then-President Donald Trump associated the virus with China and Chinese ethnicity.

In late 2022, a Quincy man was charged with a hate crime for yelling "Go back to China" at a Vietnamese family before ramming a man with his car into a ditch, causing serious injuries. The man, John Sullivan, pleaded guilty in a plea deal in April.

Liang told The Patriot Ledger that two factors motivated her to introduce the law. First, the intense civic engagement on the issue, especially from students, who she said made a concerted effort to let city officials know this matters to them.

Second, she said the issue is "deeply personal" to her as a Chinese American. Lunar New Year, with its emphasis on family, togetherness and setting goals at a time of hope and renewal, is a centerpiece of Asian culture, Liang said.

Asked if she worried about school committee members taking offense at a perceived usurpation of their authority, Liang said she always worries about the impacts of her decisions.

"But you're never going to please 100% of the people 100% of the time," she said.

Liang emphasized that the the movement to recognize Lunar New Year in Quincy schools came from the ground up and that she has taken the baton from engaged residents to bring the initiative across the finish line.

Liang acknowledged the advocacy of high school seniors Angela Chen, Brooklyn Geary and Nichole Chen, as well as parents Grace and Bartholomew Jae, Susan and Samson Chinsen, Mai Du and Wah Lum Kung Fu, Truc Lai, Thuy Leung, Trang Spratt and Donna Yang.

How Liang's fellow councilors responded

Several councilors spoke in praise of the ordinance, including Councilor-at-large Scott Campbell, who said the move is "long overdue." Campbell cited his wife, a Quincy school teacher, who said that by not closing schools on Lunar New Year, Asian families are forced to choose between the two things they value most, family and education.

Council President Ian Cain called the law "a historic moment," while Councilor Bill Harris, whose Ward 6 has a high concentration of Asian American residents, spoke about the number of emails he received on this issue and vowed to support the law's passage.

Speaking in favor of the law, Councilor-at-large Noel DiBona, whose mother is from Thailand, noted the council's ethnic diversity since 2015, when he, Liang and Cain, who is Black and gay, joined the body. DiBona said that the School Committee unfortunately lacks diversity.

After listing eight Quincy public schools with significant Asian American majorities, DiBona said that the council received over 200 emails in the last 48 hours urging the law's passage.

"In my tenure, I don't know an issue that drew more phone calls, emails and correspondence than this one," he said.

Response from the school committee members, past and present

In attendance were School Committee members Courtney Perdios and former member Frank Santoro (Santoro was also principal of Quincy High School from 2004 to 2013). Perdios and Santoro have been vocal supporters of including Lunar New Year in the school calendar for years.

"I'm super proud of Nina and all the councilors for stepping up and representing a subset of our community that's asking to be recognized and deserves to be recognized," Perdios said.

"The majority of our kids deserve the right to celebrate with their families on this most important day," Santoro said. He added that he's not celebrating yet, as the ordinance has not officially passed and there may be legal questions over the council's authority to legislate a school holiday.

Also in attendance was school committee member Kathryn Hubley, who voted against Lunar New Year's inclusion on the school calendar. Hubley said she hasn't had enough time to read Liang's legislation to comment.

The three other school committee members who voted against Lunar New Year's inclusion on the calendar did not reply to requests for comment. They are Paul Bregoli, Douglas Gutro and Emily Lebo. Perdios and Koch, who chairs the school committee, voted in favor.

Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Councilor Nina Liang moves to close Quincy schools on Lunar New Year