Political signs and statements seem to be everywhere leading up to November's general election, but school grounds in the Pleasant Valley School District won't be one of them.

Jeff Kaye, a Chestnuthill Township resident, questioned the school board Thursday night as to why a bear paw his son painted with the words "Trump 2016" was not acceptable.Seniors at Pleasant Valley High School traditionally paint and personalize bear paws outside the school's athletic stadium, but the Trump statement was painted over.Superintendent Carole Geary said the district has a policy prohibiting anything of a political nature from appearing on school district property."I'm excited your son is into the election," Geary told Kaye. "Quite frankly, we need more kids ready to jump into the political arena, but this is a public facility and we can't have support for one candidate or the other."According to Kaye, his son is very engaged in the political process and even attended a Donald Trump rally."It was a very educational experience," Kaye said. "He's had some very good dialogue with friends about politics. Some of it of course gets heated, but overall it's a great experience."It's not the first time something has had to be painted over on one of the bear paws.In fact, already this year the district has painted over phrases like "#millertime.""Students are given guidelines of what is appropriate and acceptable," Geary said. "For example, we don't want student relationships out there because if they break up in the middle of the year, now it's painted out there in the driveway. Every year we have to paint over things, but this is the first time a parent has come in to talk to us about it and it's good we're having the discussion."While he understood the district's stance, Kaye encouraged the board to review its policy and consider letting the students express themselves more."Even if they want to put their favorite sports team's logo out there or something," Kaye said. "It's a really neat thing and the kids love doing it. I certainly don't want to see the bear paws go away."