Attendance plunged at the Houston Schools Monday when parents pulled their children out of classrooms.
The reason? A popular contemporary verse written in condemnation of Guy Fawkes, who was a member of a group of English Roman Catholics that planned to carry out the “Gunpowder Plot.” It an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I of England, destroying Protestant rule by killing the Protestant aristocracy on Nov. 5, 1605.
The verse was found months ago in a Houston school building. Discussion among some students focused on the Nov. 5 date by week’s end on the school campus and by Monday, Nov. 5, some parents didn’t send their students to school.
Superintendent Clinton Waters said Tuesday that attendance stood at about 85 percent Monday. “It was a totally unfounded rumor,” he said.