Committee votes to ban 2nd of 97 books under review from Beaufort County school libraries
A book review committee voted Thursday night to permanently remove only the second of 97 books from Beaufort County schools since the evaluation process began in October.
“Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult will not be returned to school library shelves. “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover was banned last month.
This review round, three committees voted that their books only be allowed in grades 9-12, five committee voted for their books to be allowed in grades 6-12, and one committee voted to completely return their book to general library circulation.
The review committees voted to expand access for two titles, “City of Heavenly Fire” and “All the Things We Do In The Dark.”
To make a decision, a majority vote was needed from the seven-person review committees that Superintendent Frank Rodriguez appointed last fall. About half of the 10 committees had all seven people in attendance, and the committee than permanently removed “Nineteen Minutes” only had three members.
District spokesperson Candace Bruder previously said an absence would not impact the process.
The decisions handed up were:
“Eleanor and Park” by Rainbow Rowell — returned to grades 9-12
“Grown” by Tiffany D. Jackson — returned to grades 6-12
“I’ll Give You the Sun” by Jandy Nelson — returned to grades 6-12
“Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany D. Jackson — returned to grades 6-12, previously in grades K-12
“Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult — removed from all grade levels, previously in grades 9-12
“Sold” by Patricia McCormick — returned to grades 6-12, previously in grades K-12
“All the Things We Do In The Dark” by Saundra Mitchell — returned to K-12, previously in grades 9-12
“City of Heavenly Fire” by Cassandra Clare — returned to grades 6-12, previously in grades 9-12
“I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erika L. Sanchez — returned to grades 9-12, previously in grades K-12
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews — returned to grades 9-12
Titles in K-8 schools are shelved in an upper grades section and no titles are in K-5 schools, according to Bruder.
The committees are made up of a community member, a district-level administrator, a parent, a school administrator, a member of a School Improvement Council within the district/school, a school librarian and a teacher.
Rodriguez has declined to comment on the process or outcomes.
Will there be an appeal?
Only the original complainants — local GOP politician Mike Covert and parent Ivie Szalai — are eligible to appeal the committees’ decisions, which must be done within seven days, according to district policy. After an appeal, it is up to the school board to make a final decision on the titles within 15 days.
Covert said Friday he hasn’t been notified of the committee decisions and will make his decision once he is notified.
For previous decisions Szalai appealed all books returned to school libraries in some capacity, and Covert only appealed some, saying that limiting some titles to high school was enough.
The school board agreed with the book review committees with the same three board members — Victor Ney, Elizabeth Hey and Rachel Wisnefski — either abstaining or voting against agreeing to the committee decisions.
Covert said the school board not listening to his appeals won’t prevent him from thoroughly appealing, if he thinks it’s necessary.
“If I’m going to do something, if it’s this or if it’s cooking breakfast, I’m gonna do it hopefully the right way and the best way I know how,” he said.
Szalai wasn’t immediately available for comment.
“Nineteen Minutes”
“Nineteen Minutes” follows a school shooting, from when Peter, the high school shooter, was in kindergarten to the actual incident and its aftermath. The book flashes between life at the high school prior to the shooting — including brutal bullying, domestic abuse and teen pregnancy — and Peter actually carrying out 10 murders.
“I think that there are too many things in that book that could plant seeds, the wrong seeds, in child that could be really struggling with things at home and in school,” said Julie Matthews, selected for the committee as a community member.
Matthews said the two other members on her committee were a school principal and a librarian. Two of the committee members said it should be taken off shelves completely, and one said it should be restricted to high schools.
“I thought it was an excellent book, but I thought it should be a book for teachers, coaches and the administration,” Matthews said. “If it were to be put on the shelf, it should be in the principal’s office where the parents have to check it out.”
Picoult was one of the most banned authors in the 2021-22 school year, according to PEN American. This is the only one of her books up for review in Beaufort County.
“Nineteen Minutes” is No. 25 on the PEN America list of banned books and was banned seven times last school year in other schools.
The other two committee members declined to comment.
This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 10:28 AM.
