The Board of Education in Newtown, Conn., has voted to keep “Blankets” and “Flamer” — two books about sexuality that drew formal complaints because of their explicit nature — on their shelves.The debate over the possible banishment of the books led to a local political crisis, with the resignation of two Republican board members, Janet Kuzma and Jennifer Larkin.“This process has monopolized our time and attention for two months,” Democratic board member Allison Plante said of the debate.
A Connecticut board of education has voted two times to keep two books on the shelves of its city’s high school after weeks of heated debate over the book ban that culminated in the resignation of two Republican board members .
The rest of the members of the Newtown Board of Education unanimously agreed Thursday night to a compromise motion rejecting banning the books “Blankets” by Craig Thompson and “Flamer” by Mike Curato, with the caveat that school administrators create a process “to support the choices of individual parents and guardians” about whether their children will have access to the books.
As with similar debates across the country, some parents had called for the books to be banned because of their sexual content. School officials said in March they received nine official complaints against “Flamer” and one against “Blankets.”
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“Blankets” is an autobiographical story that is partly about sexual abuse. “Flamer,” around which much of the debate centered, is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel about a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality.
Republican board members Janet Kuzma and Jennifer Larkin resigned amid the controversy Wednesday. Larkin cited the need for a better work-life balance, while Kuzman addressed the controversy, citing in his resignation letter “disgusting” behavior by people attending public meetings.
“I am resigning because of the total lack of condemnation of this behavior by leadership at all levels,” wrote Kuzman, who had proposed a compromise that would have required all students 16 and younger to receive permission from parents in writing before reading the books.
“I pray that our community will regain a sense of civility in the face of different opinions,” he added.
Both sides of the issue reported being harassed by people with opposing views.
The Newtown Republican Town Committee issued a statement Thursday saying, “There is something horribly wrong in our community when city volunteers and even private citizens who send an email, speak at a meeting or write a letter to the editor are object of harassment”.
Librarian Suzanne Hurley told a May 2 meeting that she and her colleagues had been accused of negligence and incompetence by “keyboard warriors.”
The number of attempts to ban or restrict books in the United States last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
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EveryLibrary, a national political action committee, said it is tracking at least 121 different proposals introduced in state legislatures this year aimed at libraries, librarians, educators and access to materials.
During the debate in Connecticut, school officials noted that “Flamer” has been in the school library since last year and has never been checked out. “Blankets” has been in the library since 2013 and was checked out once, they said.
Before Thursday’s vote, Newtown board member Allison Plante, a Democrat, acknowledged fatigue over the issue.
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“This process has monopolized our time and our attention for two months,” said Plante, who proposed the compromise that was passed. “Please support this motion.”
