Tricked out of Halloween

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Students at Seth Boyden Elementary School in Maplewood were singing the blues Tuesday about their school's decision not to hold a Halloween party. 

"No Halloween in school?  I don't think that's good.  That's not good," said first-grader Jayden Carre.

To be clear: No party was actually scheduled for this year, because nearly a fifth of students were not planning to participate, for a variety of reasons. 

That decision was made by Principal Mark Quiles with the support of the Boyden PTA. 

"It's interfering with learning for a lot of students at this school," South Orange / Maplewood District spokeswoman Susanne Taylor said, "It's not the right place or the right time to have a Halloween celebration."

Parent reaction was mixed.

Some couldn't understand why the school canceled a party that 80 percent of the students used to take part in, while others said they'd be celebrating Halloween in their own ways outside of the classroom.

Quiles canceled the party last year, only to have it reinstated by Superintendent John Ramos. 

Ramos supports the decision this year, calling it "specific to the Seth Boyden community" and a decision made "at the school level."