Tomah School Board bans Confederate flag

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TOMAH, Wis. (AP) — Tomah is joining seven other schools in the Mississippi Valley Conference that are banning displays of the Confederate flag.

The Tomah School Board voted unanimously to approve the ban during a special meeting on Monday.

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

Wisconsin Public Radio reports the Tomah School Superintendent Cindy Zahrte says the matter was brought before the school board after several incidents at the high school. Someone, for instance, let the air out of a student’s tires in connection with the flag. School officials did not provide more details.

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