A list of 11 books provided by a concerned resident is currently under review by members of the Craven County Board of Education, according to information provided by the school system.
In an emailed response to questions submitted by New Bern Now, Jennifer Wagner, Craven County Schools director of Public Relations, said two Board of Education members, Naomi Clark and Jennifer Dacey, were given eleven books from a list “that was noted to be sexually explicit” provided by a community member.
Both Clark and Dacey were recently added to the district School Media Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC), the body that views and makes recommendations when objections about books are received in writing. According to Wagner, the MTAC is made up of around 12-15 members who are selected based on their “expertise area and representation from all areas in the district.”
Wagner said currently there are no books under review at the school or district MTAC level.
“If the two Board of Education members serving on the MTAC have concerns with the books recently shared by a community member they will bring these titles to the Board of Education for an open discussion,” Wagner wrote.
The books on the list are:
“Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl”- by Tanya Lee Stone
“Crank”- by Ellen Hopkins
“Crank: glass”- by Ellen Hopkins
“House of the Spirits”- by Isabel Allende
“Lawn Boy”- by Gary Paulsen
“Looking For Alaska”- by John Green
“Lucky”- by Alice Sebold
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”- by Jesse Andrews
“Nineteen Minutes”- by Jodi Picoult
“Perks of Being a Wallflower”- by Stephen Chbosky
“Tilt”- by Ellen Hopkins
During the BOE’s July 18 meeting, Superintendent Dr. Wendy Miller said Clark and Dacey are conducting a review of supplemental materials found in the school system’s media centers. If the review yields materials that the board committee members would like to recommend for action, those will come to the entire board in open session for discussion and a decision, she said.
“I want our stakeholders to hear that board members are reviewing the materials that have been presented to them,” she commented. “The District MTAC, with the board members appointed, will review parental objections as a committee as they occur.”
During past meetings Dacey has said she believes there are books in the school system that “fit the definition under the state obscenity statute.”
“If I were to hand these materials to a child outside of one of our schools I could rightfully be prosecuted for doing so,” she commented at the BOE’s March 16 meeting.
Under Craven County Board of Education Policy 3210, parents have a right to inspect all instructional materials “which will be used in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of any applicable federally funded programs. Parents ordinarily also may review all other instructional materials following procedures provided by the school or superintendent.”
Under the policy, parents may submit an objection in writing to the principal regarding the use of particular instructional materials.
“Books and other instructional materials may be removed from the school media collection only for legitimate educational reasons and subject to the limitations of the First Amendment,” the policy states.”
The policy also makes clear that while input from the community may be sought, “the board believes professional educators are in the best position to determine whether a particular instructional material is appropriate for the age and maturity of the students and for the subject matter being taught.”
In response to criticism from a member of the public concerning books possibly being removed from schools, board member Kelli Muse remarked, “I don’t think we’re trying to censor anything as far as our books and our MTAC is concerned, but there is age appropriateness in books. So something that is suitable for an 11th-grader to have access to or even a 7th-grader is not necessarily something that is suitable for a second or third grader to have access to.”
By Todd Wetherington, co-editor. Send an email with questions or comments.