Parents Upset After Connecticut School Paints Over Obama Mural On Election Day

WINDSOR, Conn. (CBS/AP) — A Connecticut school superintendent has apologized to parents who are upset after a mural that featured a silhouette of President Barack Obama was removed from an elementary school on Election Day.

Windsor Public Schools Superintendent Craig Cooke said Tuesday the mural at Oliver Ellsworth School was painted over to make way for something that would showcase student work.

He says it was done Nov. 8, when the school was closed, so students and staff wouldn't inhale harmful odors in the paint.

The 2009 mural featured student signatures and other historical events of that time.

Cooke says the timing for replacing the mural "couldn't have been worse" and apologized for the "mistake."

"Last week, a mural depicting events that occurred during a group of students' time at Oliver Ellsworth School was painted over. The mural was originally painted in the Spring of 2009. At the center of the mural was a silhouette of President Barack Obama, signifying his taking office as the first black President in our nation's history. The timing for the replacement of this mural could not have been worse and we offer our sincere apologies for this mistake," Cooke said in a statement.

Cooke told parents at a meeting Tuesday that district officials will work to replace the mural.

However, some parents told the Hartford Courant that they weren't buying the explanation.

"I don't know of a painting project that happens at a school in the middle of the year," Ayanna Taylor told the Courant. "The timing is very convenient and weird."

"You washed away history. That's not acceptable," Jennifer Schumsky said at the meeting, according to the Courant.

Cooke said in a statement that the school district will have procedures in place to make sure artworks and murals are not painted over without a formal process.

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