BRENHAM ISD PULLS 32 BOOKS FROM HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY FOR REVIEW AFTER COMPLAINTS
Brenham ISD is in the process of reviewing 32 books at the high school library following complaints brought forth at last week’s school board meeting that they were not age-appropriate.
Brenham ISD Communications Director Brooke Trahan said the 32 books have been pulled from the library while they are individually evaluated to determine whether they are suitable. Per the school district’s library policy, the books are removed if there is a complaint.
During the October 16th trustee meeting, two residents, Brit and Eddie Colanter, came forward to express disapproval of books at the high school library that they said contained “sexually explicit” material. The two, who Brenham ISD stated do not have children in the school district, read book excerpts before later providing the district with a list of the books they were concerned about.
One of the books read at the meeting was “A Clash of Kings”, which served as the basis for a portion of the events of the HBO series “Game of Thrones”. According to Trahan, the book was listed on the library’s online catalog, but the catalog had not been updated to reflect that the book was not available and has not been in any Brenham ISD library for several years. Trahan said the couple did not reach out with their complaints prior to the school board meeting.
Brenham ISD’s lead librarian and the high school campus librarian, Charlotte Polk and Gwen Waller, are working in conjunction with the district’s Executive Director of Leading and Learning, Christine Johnson, and a reconsideration committee to review the material of the books.
According to the library policy, the committee is comprised of the school library media specialist, a teacher, a school administrator and a member of the community. The committee will review the concerns presented and inform the librarians of its decision.
Individuals requesting book reconsideration are notified once the process is completed. If the committee’s decision is considered unsatisfactory, an appeal can be submitted to the district administration. If necessary, the decision will go before the school board for review.
Trahan said Johnson and Peggy Still, Brenham ISD’s Director of Continuous Learning, met on Wednesday with the couple who spoke at the board meeting to explain where the district was at in reviewing the books at the high school and go over library policy and procedure.
No timeline was provided for how long the review process may take.