School board renews library committee for next school year

During the June 5, 2024 of the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) school board, the board took action to renew the Library Citizens’ Action Committee (LCAC). Per Board Policy 1220, all citizen advisory committees will expire June 30th of each school year unless renewed by the Board.

The school board commissioned the LCAC before the start of the 2023-2024 school year to review various titles for their suitability in public school libraries. The move came after a small but vocal group has spoken out at MSBSD school board meetings about some of the books that might be found in school libraries that parents and community members have deemed “highly sexualized and extremely graphic,” or that have been labeled as “grooming.”

In response, the school district formed the LCAC to review and make recommendations to which titles might need to be removed from school libraries. More than 300 people applied to be on the committee, and after some back and forth discussions between school board members on how to select committee members, each district member was able to select 1 member for the committee. Additionally, 2 librarians, 2 educators and 2 school board members would be selected to serve on the 13-member body.

As previously reported, the committee focused on whether each book is obscene under standards set by Alaska law, with 56 books that were being formally challenged, with most titles found in middle and high school libraries throughout the Mat-Su Borough. This list includes fiction and nonfiction books, such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “The Freedom Writers’ Diary,” by Erin Gruwell, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephan Chbosky, and “Slaughterhouse-5,” by Kurt Vonnegut, to name just a few. To date, the committee has completed 36 book recommendations to the Board.

In consideration of the above, this action item proposes that two books, ‘Empire of Storms’ and ‘Kingdom of Ash’ be remanded to the administration for additional review to make determinations regarding obscenity and age appropriateness, that the remaining 15 books which are unavailable be removed from consideration as a challenged book until and unless such time as they are available or purchased consistent with Library Book purchasing procedures,

Jackie Goforth has been most vocal about removing the books, spoke in support of renewing the LCAC, telling the school board: “They’re saying that because the books that they were chosen, were selected, have been gone through, but that doesn’t mean that all the books that are available to children that have obscene content in them, or potentially, haven’t been reviewed or don’t need to be looked at. If you don’t renew the LCAC, we’ll never know.” Goforth followed with a suggestion that the committee look beyond the books that are still pending review, even if there is currently no challenge to them within the MSBSD.

“And I would suggest that if, when you renew it, that they meet and they look at other books that are deemed inappropriate by other sources so they can take the same course against books. Because not all books were rated as being fine and going back to all the libraries.”

MSBSD school board president Kathy McCollum thanked the members of the LCAC, acknowledging that they must be word out from their work, saying, “It was a lot of work, and I really do truly thank the members of that committee putting in the time that they put.” McCollum said that the LCAC members were reading about one book a week before meeting monthly to discuss the book and whether or not the books met the parameters for pornographic materials.

“I don’t know that very many of them would sign up to do it again if we set up a new advisory committee, which we absolutely could do again in the fall, if the need came again.” She said the board would have to repeat the process of setting up a new LCAC. She also reminded parents, school board, teachers that per BP 1312.02, anyone can refer a book for evaluation.

Board member Ole Larson also thanked the LCAC then inquired about whether changes were made to current policy that if a book comes into question, whether it could be reviewed through a different method of policy without adding up another 56 books without another LCAC.

“I guess the question is what are checks and balances now going forward?”

MSBSD Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani said that there is a two-pronged approach, including existing language about how books were to be purchased, but said that it wasn’t occurring, and that

“We have existing language about how books were to be purchased, but for whatever reason, life is busy and just wasn’t happening the way it was described. And so you end up in situations where an individual is making book purchases.”

He said that the administration has made an effort to define the procedures for purchasing books, putting filters in place before the books are put into the library. He also told the board that the responsibility for purchasing books should not rest solely on one person. He also announced that there is a new position of a library coordinator.

“No individual should make a decision by themselves. It should happen with a committee at each school. So a group of people will be making recommendations, and then before any books are either shelved or purchased, ideally, it will be reviewed by our new library coordinator for the district will review those book purchases.”

Dr. Trani said that the second prong is just to follow existing procedures and board protocols for when and how a book is challenged, adding that they’ve tried to streamline that process so if a parent has a concern about a book, it’s not a process that takes months and months and months.

“So we’re trying to make an effort so we don’t end up in this situation again.”

The committee is set to meet on June 13, 2024, at which time it is expected they will provide recommendations on another four titles 17 titles will be remaining after the June meeting, with 15 of the remaining titles either out of print or have been lost or stolen, and are no longer part of the District’s library collection.

Two titles that have yet to be reviewed, ‘Empire of Storms’ and ‘Kingdom of Ash.’ They are currently in circulation yet unavailable pending resolution of the District’s book review process.

The board voted 6 to 1 to renew the LCAC, with member Ted Swanson casting the sole vote against the measure.