In the weeks following a proposal to restrict library books at Upper Adams School District, community members are speaking out — and most of those who raised their voices are against the idea.
At the March 7 policy committee meeting, school board member Loren Lustig shared that he “and others” rewrote Policy 109.1 with changes they “feel need to be implemented,” according to the meeting minutes. The policy outlines the selection process for materials in libraries and media centers.
Lustig’s proposal seeks to “avoid” materials containing sexual content, profanity, and content that “disparage[s] religious beliefs,” including classroom books purchased by teachers.
At Thursday’s policy committee meeting, four community members spoke against restricting books, while one parent stood in support of limiting certain content.
Parent Katie Schroeder described Lustig’s proposal as “narrow and vague.” She expressed concern that the proposed changes prioritize “a few unhappy voices” over what is best for all students.
“In the short term, the policy change seems intended to give the current board license to attempt to address their dissatisfactions with the moral direction of America,” Katie Schroeder said.
Janet Schroeder, a former school board president and policy committee chair, questioned Lustig’s “desire” to set new boundaries for all students.
“I respectfully request that Upper Adams parents advocate for their children without limiting the education of others,” Janet Schroeder said. “We need to show respect for the education and knowledge of our teachers and the expertise and dedication of our administration, of our administrators.”
Janet Schroeder was not the only former school board member to rise to the podium.
Former principal, board member and policy committee chair Ron Ebbert raised concern over the language in Lustig’s proposal that states, “The District encourages citizens, including parents/guardians, to bring concerns about library materials to the District in writing.”
“The board’s duty is to the students and the parents and guardians. Do you really, really really want to give legal standing to everyone?” Ebbert said.
Middle and high school librarian Nicole Starner, speaking in a pre-recorded video message presented in the meeting, said the current policy allows parents to limit what books their individual child may read. Starner said librarians can set up an alert on a student’s account that pops up when they try to check out a book.
Starner was called away to service in the Coast Guard reserves and could not be present for Thursday’s meeting.
The current policy allows parents to challenge library materials, though Superintendent Wesley Doll said the district has not received any written complaints challenging books related to Policy 109.1 during his time at the district. He started there in 2009-2010.
Parent Edy Sarnoff raised concerns about 15 books in the district library that are reportedly rated on Book Looks as inappropriate for minors or having “abhorrent content.”
BookLooks.org describes itself as “concerned parents who have been frustrated by the lack of resource material for content-based information regarding books accessible to children and young adults.”
Sarnoff specifically mentioned three books in the secondary campus library: “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult, “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.
She read aloud passages from each of these books that she found concerning. The passages included mentions of suicidal thoughts, drug use, and sexual assault.
“School libraries must be a safe place for all children,” Sarnoff said, especially when parents are not present to keep them from consuming harmful material. “It’s up to us to ensure that all kids are safe in our taxpayer library.”
Doll in an email wrote that trained librarians select books for the library through a process that takes the entire book into context, versus select sentences. He said the diversity of the student population and how they may relate to a book is also taken into consideration.
A student, Megan Myers, said books allow students to learn more about themselves and consider new perspectives, which she described as critical to education.
“Being different was something that we were told we should appreciate, and banning books goes against this principle,” Myers said. “This oppresses the people who are different and stops their stories from being shared.”
Under the proposed changes, Myers expressed concern that board members who may find LGBTQ content inappropriate could remove materials about this community from the library.
Board attorney Gareth Pahowka cautioned the board in its implementation of any changes. He said it is important that the policy does not discriminate against any groups. Pahowka encouraged the board to ensure the policy explains in detail how challenges and complaints would be addressed. He also suggested that materials in classroom libraries might be better addressed in a different section of district policy.
Policy committee chair Susan Crouse shared excerpts from six letters sent by community members. They represented people opposed to Lustig’s proposal, and/or opposition to asking teachers to catalog materials in their personal classroom libraries.
Starner, in her prerecorded message, detailed the efforts library staff go through to carefully select appropriate books for the library. She said the online library database notes which books are appropriate for which grade levels.
Starner pointed out the two fiction sections in the secondary campus library where seventh and eighth grade level books are kept separate from fiction books designated for high school students.
Starner welcomes parents to reach out if they wish to limit or expand what their child can access in the library.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the board agreed to revisit the topic in May.
“I think we need to study this further,” Lustig said.
The next school board meeting will be April 16 at 7 p.m.
Mary Grace Kauffman, freelance reporter, worked six years as a full-time reporter for newspapers in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She has covered topics including business, crime, education, government and features. Mary Grace has a bachelor's degree in communication/journalism from Shippensburg University. She resides in Adams County.