JAY — John Benedetto asked Regional School Unit 73 directors Thursday night to define colors as they relate to skin tones, after his daughter was called Black by classmates.

“She has come to me asking what this means,” Benedetto of Livermore Falls said. “I say to her that I do not have an exact definition of what color she is. I have reached out to the RSU 73 system asking for a definition of what a white would be. There have been quite a few discussions. I have asked publicly, now this is directly affecting me and my daughter because she is upset that multiple students are calling her a color.”

Benedetto said three students have been doing this at different times and different places.

“To me, we are all humans,” he said. “I don’t give a damn about color but there is this thing going on in society and being perpetrated about color and race. It is perpetrated in books like ‘White Fragility’ so I am formally asking if I can have a definition of colors, that I can explain to my daughter what color she is.”

Benedetto said he would make a formal complaint to the district, request his daughter be recognized for the color she is and that students recognize her as such.

Later, he told the Sun Journal that his wife is from Singapore and her grandparents are from China. His background includes Italian, Irish and Indian, he said. His daughter is a second grade student.

Second grade students from Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls attend Spruce Mountain Primary School in Livermore.

The polarization seen today is tearing apart the fabric of society, Benedetto said. “I want the same privileges for everybody.”

The board held an executive session on creating an assistant superintendent position and transferring an employee to it, but took no action after returning to open session.

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