In 2023 a group of impassioned Pine-Richland residents — and a North Carolina pastor — had one request for the district: remove a list of books from school libraries they found to be inappropriate for students to read.
Fast forward more than a year later and little has changed. The books remain in the library following a review process. And revisions to the library book policy are ongoing.
But the calls for action thrust Pine-Richland into culture wars ravaging school boards across the country, leading to heated meetings that last well past midnight. Parents, students and Pine-Richland alumni have shown up holding signs or wearing shirts supporting banned books, calling on the board to trust librarians and staff to choose appropriate materials.
Others have read scripture verses and once again called for the removal of those books. They also elected candidates to the board who support reexamining the library book policy.
School directors are finally gearing up to go through three readings of the controversial policy, which lays out how library books are selected as well as the process to challenge books.
Here’s how the district got here:
October 2023
During the Oct. 24, 2023 meeting, a handful of community members asked that books they deemed to be sexually explicit and obscene be removed from school libraries. They questioned novels such as “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, a graphic novel version of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Push” by Sapphire.
At the time, more than a dozen books were challenged, the first time in recent years the district had received a book challenge.
Directors indicated they planned to reexamine policies around resource materials and how books are chosen for student access.
November 2023
A month later the board tabled a potential review of the policy until newly elected school directors were seated in December.
During the November meeting several residents spoke against removing books from the school library, saying that novels should represent everyone and that one group of people shouldn’t be able to make the choice for all parents about which books are appropriate.
April 2024
In the months that followed, a review process of the challenged books played out.
In all, challenged books at the high school included “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson; “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” by Susan Kuklin; “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult; “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Perez; “Push” by Sapphire; “Shine” by Lauren Myracle; “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison; “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault.
Other books challenged at both the high school and middle school included the first four volumes of “Heartstopper” by Alice Oseman. “Nick and Charlie” by Alice Oseman was challenged at the middle school level.
In following Policy 109.1, a 10-person committee of community members and district staff was compiled. The district had 329 residents interested in sitting on the committee. Five were chosen through a lottery system. Afterwards, they read the books in their entirety.
The committee largely agreed that each novel should remain in the respective libraries, except for “Push,” for which there was a 5-5 vote, meaning a consensus was not reached.
Superintendent Brian Miller finalized the process in April, saying all 14 books could remain in school libraries.
Directors indicated they would make tweaks to the existing policy.
September 2024 through January 2025
By September, the board held its first joint governance meeting to discuss the policy, proposing a major overhaul.
During the meeting a redlined version of the policy was presented. It featured changes such as having the school board select materials and removing “sexually explicit content.”
But it quickly received pushback, with some school directors and the community saying the proposals were sprung on them. Some called it a “political agenda.”
The second joint governance meeting was held in November, with the final one taking place in January.
During the Jan. 10 meeting, directors went section-by-section detailing changes they wanted to see moving forward. In all, revisions to the policy made that night aimed to provide more parental oversight while adding language such as “explicit sexual content.” It also gives the board more control over the selection process and final determinations of challenged books if an appeal takes place.
February 2025
The board during a meeting this week declined to have further discussion on possible policy revisions. The policy will now go through its first read next month.
A board workshop is scheduled for Feb. 10, with the voting meeting Feb. 24.
First Published: January 14, 2025, 5:38 p.m.