Spanish Signs Removed From Delaware School Playgrounds Amid Intimidation Concerns

MILFORD, Del. (AP) — Officials in a Delaware community have removed Spanish-language from elementary school playgrounds amid concerns that they conveyed an intimidating message.

Milford schools superintendent Phyllis Kohel said she and her husband on Sunday removed the signs, which had been up for about a year at the playgrounds of the Lulu M. Ross and Mispillion elementary schools.

English signs at the playgrounds said adult supervision was required at the playgrounds, but the Spanish version of the signs said a permit was needed to use the playground and that violators could face police action. In fact, no permits are required to use the playgrounds.

The discrepancy attracted public attention after a talk-radio host for WXDE noticed the different wording and posted a picture of the signs on his Facebook page. That prompted Kohel to immediately remove the signs.

Kohel, in her first year as superintendent, said she doesn't know why the Spanish signs said what they did but that she assumes there was no discriminatory intent. She said she thinks someone may have duplicated the wording from similar signs posted at the district's middle and high schools, which warn that a permit is needed to use the sports fields.

"Those signs make sense at soccer sites," Kohel told the News Journal of Wilmington. "They don't make sense at a playground."

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