AMHERST - Raising the Puerto Rican flag over the town common is a November tradition in Amherst that helps to celebrate the town's cultural and ethnic diversity.

But at this year's event, which begins at noon today at the Town Room at Town Hall, there will not be any keynote speakers making presentations in the hour leading up to the 1 p.m. flag-raising. Instead, the gathering will be an opportunity for participants to speak about any issues they want to address, an idea that fits this year's "Democracy for All in Amherst" theme.

For Vladimir Morales, who annually organizes the event on behalf of the Puerto Rican Association of Amherst, there are many concerns in the Puerto Rican community, especially as it relates to the closing of Mark's Meadow School and the redistricting of the remaining three elementary schools.

"This year we have decided to do and talk about democracy for all," Morales said.

Morales said too often people, especially those in Amherst's Spanish-speaking communities, don't have the chance to air their concerns. This is especially troubling, he said, during a time when there is discord and dissatisfaction over how students will be assigned to schools next year.

"I believe many will take the opportunity to go into a lot of things, as I have done in the past," Morales said.

Morales said he will address what he sees as the poor decision by the School Committee to use a socio-economic model in the redistricting process, putting an equal proportion of low-income children at each of the schools. This he sees as a bad thing because it will end efforts at clustering children from similar cultural backgrounds and will involve forced busing and end up pitting children from more affluent areas against those who are facing economic challenges.

To further this discussion, Morales said he will be launching community forums this fall aimed at reaching out to communities affected by the decision.

He hopes to also spur volunteering in the schools. Morales said he plans to volunteer in the library.

The Puerto Rican flag goes up annually at the beginning of November and flies until Thanksgiving. It is meant to celebrate the Nov. 19 holiday on Puerto Rico, the day in 1493 that Christopher Columbus landed on the island.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis proclaimed Puerto Rican Day in Massachusetts in 1989.