Governor Murphy is picking a fight with the superintendent of a New Jersey school district after the district announced that there will be no Halloween celebrations at the school this year.

In a letter to parents earlier in October, the South Orange and Maplewood School District superintendent, Ronald Taylor, said the district would be calling off Halloween activities as part of a project “to build a consistent approach across the District as to how our schools observe and celebrate holidays and special events.”

In response, Governor Murphy reacted to the announcement in a post saying, “Seriously? We can’t let kids celebrate Halloween? Give me a break.”

According to the district, the school will still allow Halloween events on school grounds after school, and parent teacher associations and other groups can still host Halloween events after school at the schools. Yet the district won’t allow costumes during the school day.

The school district “is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion meaningfully — not just saying the words, but also promoting an inclusive school community that creates belonging for all students, families, and staff,” Mr. Taylor wrote in a letter.

According to Mr. Taylor, the district was concerned about potential financial stresses that an at-school Halloween celebration could cause as well as potential at-school activities that might “violate the dignity of some of our students and families, either culturally or religiously.”

The assistant superintendent of access and equity, Kevin Gilbert, told ABC 7 that the decision to cancel at-school Halloween activities was based on the fact that “some within our communities that either have cultural or religious reservations as it pertains to Halloween.”