The Rutherford County School Board voted at the Feb. 6 board meeting to permanently remove 32 books from school libraries. They voted to retain ten books with restrictions.
One additional book was removed from discussion because it meets state curriculum standards. The meeting lasted three-and-a-half hours.
These titles are a fraction of the 150 books removed in November for further review. At previous meetings, board members voted to remove or retain books one at a time by title. This meeting’s first book-related motion, raised by Tammy Sharp, was to remove 26 titles with one vote. Instead of announcing the books by name, she read the numbers from the list provided in the agenda, a choice that created confusion for some in the gallery as well as for board members.
Stan Vaught and board chair Claire Maxwell voted against this motion, while Sharp, Butch Vaughn, Katie Darby, Frances Rosales and Caleb Tidwell voted in favor.
Vaught planned to make a similar motion with opposite intentions.
“I was prepared to make a motion at the beginning to just take the library recommendation on all the books … and just kind of be done with it. Dr. [Kelly] Chastain and her staff, they’ve been working very, very diligently, you know, trying to put all this together to meet that and I hopefully will be done with it in the next month.”
Maxwell, who made liberal use of her gavel during the meeting, is also frustrated and eager to end the book review process
“Yes, we want it done,” Maxwell said. “I want it done. I know it’s confusing, and I didn’t ask for this, but it is what it is. I want it done.”
After approving the motion to remove 26 titles, Tidwell raised a motion to keep 10 titles but only for 11th and 12th graders with parental consent. The board approved this motion as well.
The board then approved a motion to remove the remaining books.
Many of the books were removed against librarian recommendations, again.
One of the removed books, “Shout” by Laurie Halse Anderson, won the Volunteer State Book Award, which is voted on by students across Tennessee.
“It is considered good practice for Tennessee libraries to house VSBA awards in their collections,” according to the librarian’s review. The board disagreed and will not return the title to RCS libraries.
The cover of “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo boasts stickers touting four major awards, including the National Book Award for youth literature. Despite the librarians’ recommendations, the board opted to remove this book.
The board also went against librarian recommendations to retain “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult.
“This is a sensitive topic to review as it deals with school violence, loss and grief, and bullying. Making decisions regarding removing access to information of this nature could have unforeseen consequences through the lens of our district’s priorities,” according to the librarian’s review.
The following books will not return to library shelves:
- “The Upside of Unrequited” by Becky Albertalli
- “Shout” by Laurie Halse Anderson
- “Speak: The Graphic Novel” by Laurie Halse Anderson
- “Go Ask Alice” by Anonymous
- “Storm and Fury” by Jennifer Armentrout
- “Beartown” by Frederick Bachman
- “Chosen” by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast
- “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Lee Dugard
- “The Carnival at Bray” by Jessie Ann Foley
- “Burned” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Perfect” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Rumble” by Ellen Hopkins
- “Almost Perfect” by Brian Katcher
- “Homebody” by Rupi Kaur
- “Milk and Honey” by Rupi Kaur
- “The Sun and Her Flowers” by Rupi Kaur
- “The Duff” by Kody Keplinger
- “Ask the Passengers” by A.S. King
- “Relish” by Lucy Knisley
- “A Lesson in Vengence” by Victoria Lee
- “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo
- “Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything” by E. Lockhart
- “The Best Laid Plans” by Cameron Lund
- “The Truth about Alice” by Jennifer Mathieu
- “Shine” by Lauren Myracle
- “Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe” by Preston Norton
- “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez
- “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult
- “Gabi, Girl in Pieces” by Isabel Quintero
- “Living Dead Girl” by E. Scott
- “This One Summer” by Mariko Tamaki
- “Red at the Bone” by Jacqueline Woodson
The following books will be available to 11th and 12th graders with parent permission:
- “Wintergirls” by Laurie Halse Anderson
- “I am Margaret Moore” by Hannah Capin
- “Clockwork Princess” by Cassandra Clare
- “Girl in Pieces” by Kathleen Glasgow
- “Her Royal Highness” by Rachel Hawkins
- “Without Merit” by Colleen Hoover
- “Girl in Translation” by Jean Kwok
- “Dumplin’” by Julie Murphy
- “Nick and Charlie: A Heartstopper Novella” by Alice Oseman
- “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab
The board retained “The Body: A Guide for Occupants” by Bill Bryson without a vote because it meets Tennessee curriculum standards.
Other business addressed in this meeting included rescinding a controversial resolution passed two weeks prior, urging Tennessee legislators and Gov. Bill Lee to “advocate for the current administration to expedite the closure of our nation’s borders.”
After about 45 minutes of deliberation, the board approved a resolution proposed by Tidwell, calling on the Tennessee General Assembly to delete code calling to “implement policies promoting educator diversity, including strategies for recruitment and retention of minority educators, setting local goals based on student diversity, and monitoring educator diversity across the state.”
Someone in the gallery shouted, “Shame on you!” as the board broke for a recess. After the recess, the board voted to rescind that resolution as well.
The next Rutherford County School Board meeting takes place Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m.
