Christina and Robert Burris, parents of high school students in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, attended the November 2021 school board meeting for a specific reason: to complain about “33 Snowfish,” novel about a homeless teenager escaping sexual harassment.
The 2003 book, written by Adam Rapp, could “traumatize” teenagers with its “shocking” content, the couple said.
The school management answered immediately. With one member absent, the board voted 6-0 to remove “sexually explicit” books from the school library.
“We should throw these books in the fire,” said council member Rabih Abuismail, lamenting that public schools want children to read more about “gay pornography” than about Jesus Christ.
Another, Kirk Twigg, said they want to see the books before they burn them, “so we can see in our community that we’re getting rid of these bad things.”
Residents of Spotsylvania County, a rapidly growing area between Richmond and the state capital, instantly expressing displeasure through the Board’s move, prompting to quickly reverse the decision.
But the battle over book access is far from over.
Mark Taylor, superintendent of Spotsylvania County Public Schools, last month proposed closing all school libraries in the district. Doing so would be an important cost-cutting measure, he said, as the school system faces a $21.8 million funding gap. (After county officials approved the budget in April, the shortfall grew to $10 million.)
Just days after Taylor suggested closing the school’s library, he made the announcement 14 books – including “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson – will be removed from the shelves, saying they have explicit sexual content.
When parents in Spotsylvania County challenge the book, it triggers a formal review process by a committee that includes parents, teachers and others. 14 books that were removed from the library are already there considered acceptable by the book review committee.
But Taylor has argued that this security is justified by Virginia law requiring schools to notify parents of “explicit sexual” content in instructional materials.
“The recent decision to remove 14 sexually explicit books from the library does not prohibit teachers from including them in classroom assignments with parental notification in accordance with applicable laws and policies,” Taylor said in a lengthy statement to HuffPost, adding that the district does not have resources to review all 390,000 books in the school library for explicit content.
“Within a week, we found threats of the library closing and books being pulled from the shelves,” Kassie Gregorio Palmer, a parent who runs a Facebook page about Spotsylvania Public Schools, told HuffPost.
“Before this, we were a respected school district,” added Gregorio Palmer. “I’m afraid this is the new normal.”
It’s a familiar story. Conservative parents, sometimes supported by right-wing activist groups, have objected to the book being found in US schools, including in Pennsylvania, Florida and Missouri. Challenges and restrictions have led some educators to consider limiting the resources available to students, and survey has found that the conservative culture war is contributing to the national teacher shortage.
“At first I didn’t think so [conservatives] they’re trying to destroy public schools,” said Gregorio Palmer. “But now it’s more, I don’t know how.”
Taylor said her school district “stands for parents’ rights.”
“I’m an advocate for civil liberties,” he said. “I am deeply concerned about parents’ civil liberties and the right to choose whether their children are exposed to sexual material that violates Virginia law. … Our top priority is the safety and well-being of the children entrusted to us.”
State law requires schools to have a library on site, so it would be difficult to enforce Taylor’s proposed closure. But the suggestion raised alarm in Spotsylvania about the potential educational resources.
“Even in a stressful budgetary period, removing or defunding libraries or librarians undermines the very essence of learning,” said a statement from the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, a public library system that serves Spotsylvania and the surrounding area.
“We … urge the School Board to reject this possibility to ensure that Spotsylvania County students continue to benefit from the strongest education system we can provide.”
Spotsylvania County Supervisor Chris Yakabouski, meanwhile, said that closes the school library there “pretty stupid” idea.
Taylor has been a controversial figure since being nominated for the role of superintendent, which became vacant last year after the school board fired then-Superintendent Scott Baker – a former regional superintendent of the year and teacher of the year – “without cause.” Spotsylvania residents were baffled by the decision.
At the time, his parents claimed that Taylor had made him racist and homophobic shipment on social media, and he has suggested parents remove children from public schools.
Taylor, who also works in local government in other districts, came with no background in education other than the home-school of his own children – one of which cited his negative experience with teaching to ask the Board not to choose his estranged father.
“Over the years, it has had nothing to do with any book learning,” Jael Taylor wrote in a letter to the board. “To this day, I still feel there are a lot of holes in my education.”
The school board’s next budget meeting is currently scheduled for Monday, and it’s unclear what the board will do to address the funding gap. But the fact that the superintendent is proposing to close the library amid misplaced outrage over books has local residents worried about the state of public schools.
“Even if they don’t close the library, it doesn’t mean they support the strong public school system in Spotsylvania,” Gregorio Palmer said. “Everything is still not good.”
Need help? Visit RAINN National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or in National Sexual Violence Resource Center website.
If you are a runaway youth or a youth who is thinking of running away, or if you know someone who is, visit the National Runaway Switchboard or call 1-800-RUNAWAY.