Officials deny effort to scrap 'St. Patrick's Day' at Massachusetts public school

A day after reports surfaced that a Massachusetts public school was renaming St. Patrick's Day "O'Green Day," officials denied there was any attempt under way to rebrand the holiday.

In a statement sent to FoxNews.com on Friday, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee Chairman Scott Chapman said the district "has not and will not change the name of St. Patrick's Day."

ABC affiliate WGGB-TV first reported Wednesday that Lisa Curtin, principal of the Soule Road School in Wilbraham, Mass., changed the name to ease discomfort that some students might have in celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The station reported that Curtin made the decision in an effort to be "inclusive and diverse."

Dina LaMotte and other parents told FoxNews.com that a school calendar showed the words "O'Green Day" listed for Friday, March 16, leaving some in the community to believe that the school was officially changing the holiday's name.

Wilbraham Schools Superintendent Martin O'Shea declined to speak to FoxNews.com despite multiple requests. In an email sent to parents Thursday, O'Shea claimed that "Soule Road has not changed the name of St. Patrick’s Day," the Springfield Republican reported.

"It is noted as St. Patrick’s Day on the Soule Road school calendar and will be in future years. O’Green Day, on Friday, March 16, the day before St. Patrick’s Day, was set up as a day to encourage students to celebrate the holiday by wearing green," O'Shea explained in the email.

Chapman reiterated O'Shea's remarks by saying the school district "recognizes the important place that St. Patrick’s Day has in the history of our country."

"All of our nation's traditional holidays are recognized and will continue to be recognized by our district and incorporated in learning activities where appropriate as part of our educational mission," Chapman said.

Multiple parents had expressed their displeasure to FoxNews.com on Thursday at the perceived renaming of the holiday. They also claimed the school replaced the words "Valentine's Day" with "Caring and Kindness Day" during school activities in February.

"Those two holidays are holidays that have become over the years very secular in nature," parent Theresa Finnegan said.