Is there a Columbus Day controversy in the Toms River School District? The school superintendent says no. But some Italian American groups are not buying it and are making their voices heard. The controversy stems from the fact that Toms River students will have class on Columbus Day. This was not always the case in recent years.
 
The district’s faculty and staff worked on that day - it was only the students who were off. School officials say it only made sense to bring the students back in to help shorten the school calendar. Toms River has a large Italian American population. Some activists say that they believe the district changed the calendar as a subtle way to avoid some of the growing national controversies about Christopher Columbus and his actions with indigenous people.