Mike Wolanin | The Republic An exterior view of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation administration building in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. has received official complaints regarding library books, including two sent in by current school board members.
Board member Jason Major confirmed that he has gone through the school corporation’s official complaint process for the book “People Kill People” by Ellen Hopkins. Additionally, fellow board member Logan Schulz has submitted a complaint about “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.
Jason Major
Amazon describes “People Kill People” as novel about gun violence and white supremacy. It also features characters dealing with teenage parenthood, racial tension and depression.
The issue of inappropriate materials versus concerns about censorship was one of the topics debated during BCSC’s 2022 school board elections. At one candidate forum in October, Major responded to a question about censorship by reading an explicit passage from a book — which he later identified as “People Kill People” — that he said was included in Columbus East High School’s library. BCSC’s Destiny system indicates that the book is also available at North.
“I would caution you if watching near smaller children as the material is sexually explicit and speaks of an adult male having forced sexual relations with a very young male,” Major said in a Facebook post that included a video clip of his forum answer. “This excerpt depicts a situation of rape and pedophilia. You be the judge as to whether or not this should be available to kids as young as 14.”
The book Schulz is concerned about, “All American Boys,” is a 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature, according to Amazon.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. school board candidate for District 6 Logan Schulz speaks during an IUPUC Office of Student Affairs candidate forum at the Columbus Learning Center in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2022.
“Two teens — one black, one white — grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension,” the book description states.
Schulz said he submitted his complaint based on profanity and recently met with all five principals at schools where the book is present, which he said is every middle and high school.
BCSC’s Policy 9130 on Public Complaints and Concerns details the steps that an individual can take if they have a request, suggestion, complaint or concern related to instructional materials, including library books.
The process starts by communicating with officials at the involved school and, if the individual remains unsatisfied, the matter eventually goes to the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for a formal review.
However, as this position no longer exists, school officials have said that assistant superintendent of human resources Gina Pleak would fulfill the same role in the complaint process. This includes appointing a review committee made up of one administrator, two teachers, two parents and one department representative. School personnel chosen for the committee must not be from schools involved in the complaint.
Upon reviewing the complaint, the committee will make a recommendation to the assistant superintendent, and a formal letter stating the findings of the committee and the official ruling on the challenged materials will be sent to the complainant. If the individual remains unsatisfied, they can bring an appeal to the school board by submitting a written request to the superintendent.
“No challenged material may be removed from the curriculum or from a collection of resource materials except by action of the Board, and no challenged material may be removed solely because it presents ideas that may be unpopular or offensive to some,” the policy states. “Any Board action to remove material will be accompanied by the Board’s statement of its reasons for the removal.”
Superintendent Jim Roberts said that BCSC is currently dealing with about five book complaints, with most of these still at the beginning of the process.
For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
