By Mike McCombs
The Island News
When the Beaufort County Board of Education meets Tuesday, April 4, it won’t be hearing any book review committee appeals because they were late.
The committees’ decisions on nine books from their March 15 sessions were emailed that evening to original complainants Ivie Szalai and Mike Covert, the two who originally requested the removal of the books from Beaufort County School District (BCSD) shelves.
Szalai and Covert did file appeals, but according to the school district, they were late and therefore won’t be considered.
In a statement given to The Island News, BCSD Communications Director Candace Bruder wrote:
Although the district received challenged library materials appeals from the two complainants Sunday and (Monday), the appeals were not received within the time frame denoted in Regulation IS 38.1 Procedures for Handling Questioned or Challenged Library Materials which states, “Complainants wishing to appeal the decision of the Materials Reconsideration Committee must do so in writing, to the Board of Education within (7) business days of receipt of the committee’s decision.” Friday, March 24, 2023, was the 7th business day. (The complainants were emailed the challenged library materials committee results immediately following the meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.) Because the appeals were not received within the time frame denoted in Regulation IS 38.1, they will not be considered.
Had there been appeals, the school board would have had 15 days to rule on them. As of press time, Szalai had not responded to an email seeking comment.
Here are the books Committees 27 through 36 evaluated and ruled on at the March 15 sessio:
No. 27: The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein, return to library circulation.
No. 28: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, return to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
No. 29: The Female Of The Species By Mindy McGinnis, return to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
No. 30: The Haters by Jesse Andrews, remove the challenged material in its entirety.
No. 31: The Upside Of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli, return to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
No. 32: The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins, return to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
No. 33: This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, return to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
No. 34: Tilt by Ellen Hopkins, return to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
No. 35: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, return to library circulation for Grades 6 through 12 only.
No. 36: Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi, return to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
The fate of The Haters by Jesse Andrews was already sealed. It joins two other books – Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, removed in February, and It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, removed in January – that will be kept out of the Beaufort County School District for at least the next five years.
Committees have now reviewed 36 of the 97 books under review, returning 33 to the shelves in some fashion.
The next 10 books – The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta; Burned by Ellen Hopkins; Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer; Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Melinda Lo; Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez; Rumble by Ellen Hopkins; Smoke by Ellen Hopkins; The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu; and Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen – will be voted on by their committees at 5:45 p.m., Wednesday, April 5 at Okatie Elementary School.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
