Tensions flared in the Little Miami Schools boardroom Wednesday night over a classroom poster that reads “Hate Has No Home Here,” a sign decorated with heart-shaped flags including a transgender pride heart and a rainbow pride heart. After a complaint, the five-member Board of Education voted 4–1 to remove the poster, dropping the district back into an ongoing fight over classroom displays and so-called parental-rights rules.
At the Feb. 25 meeting, board members Dan Smith, Diane Horvath, Mandy Bullock and Julie Perelman voted to take the sign down, while Wayne Siebert cast the lone “no” vote. School officials told the board the poster hung in a high school classroom and that Principal Kevin Harleman had been alerted to the complaint. Teachers and the principal reportedly concluded the sign’s primary purpose was not to promote sexuality content. During discussion, Board President David Wallace suggested that removing displays tied to sexual orientation or gender identity could help the district avoid extra parental-notification steps, and Siebert warned that a Title IX lawsuit could cost “$100,000 or more,” as reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Smith defended his vote in explicitly religious terms, saying, “we love people, Jesus loved people ... but he didn’t love sin,” language that several audience members and fellow board member Perelman later described as “most distressing.” At one point Wallace asked Hamilton Township police to remove a man from the meeting, though township authorities later said no one was escorted out and no names were taken. Superintendent Brad Underwood issued a statement afterward saying Little Miami Schools “remains committed to providing a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment for all students,” according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Board’s Recent Fight Over Classroom Displays
The poster vote landed on top of a recent, highly charged debate over what teachers can put on their walls. In January 2025 the board shelved a proposed policy that would have restricted classroom decor after a close 3–2 decision and heavy public opposition. That proposal drew a petition with hundreds of signatures and hours of public comment, and it helped crystallize local divisions over how Little Miami should balance “neutral” decor, teacher autonomy and student safety, as reported by WCPO.
Politics, Associations And The Parents’ Bill Of Rights
The latest removal also comes after Little Miami voted to end its membership in the Ohio School Boards Association amid broader statewide fights over the so-called Parents’ Bill of Rights. Local reporting has linked that break with the association to House Bill 8 and to efforts to limit what can be displayed in classrooms, as detailed by The Buckeye Flame.
Legal Questions
Legal risk was not a side note in the discussion. Siebert’s warning about potential Title IX liability echoed concerns that have surfaced in other districts testing strict rules on classroom displays. Whether that risk becomes reality will depend on the facts of any complaint and how Little Miami chooses to implement display policies, decisions that could invite administrative complaints, private lawsuits, or both.
What Comes Next
The board did not lay out a specific timeline for enforcing the decision on the poster. Meeting materials and a recording of the Feb. 25 session are available on the district’s BoardDocs page.
Parents, students and advocacy groups on both sides of the issue say they plan to keep a close eye on upcoming meetings and policy work to see whether this poster removal becomes the first step in a broader enforcement push or remains a narrow, case-by-case decision about one sign on one classroom wall.
