By Mike McCombs
The Island News
The recommendations of 10 Beaufort County School District (BCSD) book review committees from April 5 were confirmed by the Beaufort County Board of Education (BOE) in a Board Work Review Session on April 21.
The committees had recommended the return of all 10 books to District shelves in some fashion, and the decisions were appealed by at least one of the original complainants – Mike Covert and/or Ivie Szalai.
Carlton Dallas (District 8) moved “that the Board approve the recommendation from the committees,” and Ingrid Boatright (District 11) seconded. The motion passed 6-3 as Angela Middleton (District 6), Dallas, Earl Campbell (District 1), Boatright, Richard Geier (District 4) and William Smith (District 3) voted “yes.”
Elizabeth Hey (District 10), Rachel Wisnefski (District 7) and Victor Ney (District 5) voted “no,” while Chloe Gordon (District 2) was absent.
Here are the 10 committee decisions from April 5:
No. 37: The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta – Returned to library circulation.
No. 38: Burned by Ellen Hopkins – Returned to library circulation for Grades 9-12 only.
No. 39: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare – Returned to library circulation for Grades 9-12 only.
No. 40: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer – Returned to library circulation for Grades 9-12 only.
No. 41: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Melinda Lo – Returned to library circulation for Grades 9-12 only.
No. 42: Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez – Returned to library circulation.
No. 43: Rumble by Ellen Hopkins – Returned to library circulation for Grades 9-12 only.
No. 44: Smoke by Ellen Hopkins – Returned to library circulation for Grades 9-12 only.
No. 45: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu – Returned to library circulation for Grades 9-12 only.
No. 46: Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen – Returned to library circulation.
A recap
Ninety-seven books were removed from the shelves of libraries and classrooms in the BCSD in October and are to be reviewed for their appropriateness by the book review committees. The reviews were triggered by complaints that the books were obscene and inappropriate.
The original lists of books, submitted by former Beaufort County Councilman and GOP politician Mike Covert and Beaufort’s Ivie Szalai, are identical to each other with Covert challenging one additional book.
The book review committees must consist, per state guidelines, of a school librarian, a district teacher, a parent (other than the complainant), a school administrator, a district-level administrator, and a member of a School Improvement Council in the district. The BCSD added a seventh member to the committees – a community member.
So far, 46 of the 97 books have been reviewed by the committees. Of the 46 books of which reviews and appeals have been completed, 43 have been returned to district shelves in some fashion, while three books – The Haters by Jesse Andrews, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, and It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover – have been removed from shelves and will be kept out of the Beaufort County School District for at least the next five years.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
