001good evening I called to order the special call meeting of the Board of Trustees at the outset I welcome everyone here tonight and want to begin by thanking everybody for coming out tonight in support of our children again regardless of the viewpoint on the books that are before us again I want to offer thanks to our teachers librarian staff members parents administrators who participated in the book challenges at either the school or District level your hard work on this process has been invaluable I'm going to remind everybody in the audience again watching at home and in the audience tonight that we're going to be better as a district when we practice civility I told you last meeting that children are watching and that we need to model appropriate and civil behavior and one of those
002children took the time to email me after that and let me know that he was indeed watching and that he would continue to be watching as this process unfolds so I remind you of that and again one of the greatest lessons we can teach our children from this process is that as adults we can disagree over issues issues that can be very controversial and go to the heart of our beliefs and even our own faith but in the end we can civilly give our point of view and accept that there will be some who agree with us and some who will not and that is okay because we can still love our neighbors even when we differ in opinion with them Miss Kessler I'm gonna turn it over to you for the invocation and the
003pledge I invite you to pray with me Heavenly Father we come to you this evening asking for your guidance wisdom and support as we begin this meeting help us engage in meaningful discussion allow us to grow as a group and nurture the bonds of our community in Jesus name I pray amen emergency thank you Miss Kessler next on our agenda is the consent agenda and without objection our consent agenda will stand approved okay moving on next we are going to begin our book appeals and we do have at least one new complainant tonight so I'm going to make sure everybody understands for those of you who may not have been here before the process which we are going to follow we're going to review each uh book individually following this format the complainant is going
004to have 15 minutes time to discuss his or her concerns I'm going to ask this evening that the complainants limit their comments to those that are directly related to the book and not other commentary District committee chair for that book will then have 15 minutes again timed to give the committee totals and to read the comments of the committee members Miss Kessler is at that point going to make a motion to uphold the recommendation of the district to retain or restrict at whatever level they recommended Miss castles is going to second that motion I'm then going to open this for discussion for board members to speak as to that book or to ask any questions with the understanding that this is an appeal process and board members may decide to vote on what they hear
005from either the complainant or the district committee without personal comment then we're going to take a hand vote board members can vote I which would be a yes vote to retain or no which would be a vote not to retain the majority is going to determine whether the book is retained or not lastly I want to make clear that just because Ms Kessler is making all the Motions in the affirmative and Miss castles is seconding that this is not their vote and that they will be free to vote no or yes on any book this is solely for the purpose of getting the vote before the board and to open discussion tonight the books being heard on appeal are number one Ellen Outside the Lines by AJ sass number two me and the white supremacy
006by Layla F sod and number three woke a young poet's called to Justice by mahogany brown and with that we will now invite the complainant on Ellen outside of the lines to this to the podium and that is madam chair we invite Mary Ritter to the podium please thank you Miss Ritter please join us at the podium much I appreciate appreciates my opinion on this book you know I know where to direct just the book itself but I will say Ellen outside of the lines was a child who was riddled with anxiety who had uh it seems from the book OCD she also was autistic she also was Jewish and um later in the book we find that she has some other areas that she's seeking to find her way and I can say as
007a child I had many differences and it wasn't always comfortable and even as an adult it's not always comfortable so there were some things that I could agree with I have gone on to read in the story there were other characters that were really prominent characters in the book Isa Martin Martinez who was 13 who identified as gender fluid bisexual said she could go with boys or girls and she dresses as a boy Andy Zhang who was 13 who was homeless who decided he was homosexual Laurel McKinley who was a friend of Allen who was straight and I just think about all of these labels and I I believe that we all should value every child every child should be treated with respect and dignity but sometimes I think when we start playing up so
008many different labels I believe those books become a bit more divisive I think sometimes with that as children in that age group they're very impressionable between the age of 11 and 13 their hormones are raging it's a tough part of their life and it's very difficult to navigate that I believe that in the realm of sexuality you know there are um I would think parameters where you would want family to help their children through this phase I just think so much emphasis on that puts children in a position to become maybe a little more confused I think every child does try to find their place and our job as adults is to lovingly and kindly guide them along the way but I do believe that sometimes there might be a little bit more of introducing
009an introductions that May with children who have not yet formed their ability to make rational decisions I I have read from other experts that sometimes they're so influenced by societal Norms that they may make choices that are not good for them therefore I would prefer that the book not be in the school I don't object to that book being in the library I just think in the school system I would prefer that it not be there that is my personal opinion goodness gracious I love every child every child is precious every child deserves the very best and deserves to feel welcome and accepted within their school environment but children are not always going to have that opportunity but we have to as adults help them find their way thank you thank you Miss Ritter and
010now the district committee chairperson Dr Hefner yes Madam chair Mr Chapman if you would come share the comments of the committee good afternoon Madam chair board members and Dr Hafner uh today I want to give my committee's uh review of uh Ellen Outside the Lines by AJ sass uh my committee held its uh its consensus meeting on 8 1 23. it consisted of five individuals holding various positions in the school district from teachers to District level administrators and to be exact we had a District Administrative school counselor uh two teachers a media specialist uh one parent uh who was invited to participate uh and two more teachers who were invited to participate um uh through this committee uh we uh the book ended up being retained at the elementary and the Middle School level um
011so uh let me read a little bit about uh this book give me one minute I think I might have the wrong one oh I got it uh so uh in this book uh we had to answer a few questions and I'll go down the line as far as the questions and I'll read a summary as far as what the Committee Member said uh what is the overall purpose of this book did it accomplish this purpose the book's purpose was to allow readers to understand how fellow classmates who have autism react in certain situations and to be aware and compassionate about the issues uh I feel that the book will help others understand and be more considerate of students with different disabilities the overall purpose of this book is to shed light on issues struggles
012and internal battles that our Future Leaders face every single day and when a student reads this book he or she can say she's just like me the purpose was accomplished just by by reading this book um because I also struggled in elementary middle and high school with being gay there were no resources books or any relatable material when I grew up this was huge I'm not sure then this is another member I'm not sure what the purpose of this book truly is it is a non-fiction story that tells the story of a young lady that's dealing with differences and confusion in life it is also a book that deals with challenges with sexuality and youth Curiosities this book accomplishes that goal there are a lot of human differences covered in this book it gives a
013brief insight to the pronouns people choose gender identity sexual orientation and even some religious values yes especially when it comes to understanding and dealing with students who may have special needs or with students who are different another question we had to answer we had to check the general acceptance of the material by reading reviews and Consulting uh recommended lists and awards uh the book has a 5 out of five rating on the Common Sense Media for ages 9 and up four for educational value five for positive role models five for positive messages four for diverse representations and one for sex as far as awards are received a Sydney Taylor book award uh and it was also an honor book uh it was a book list editor's Choice book the school library a journal best book
014of the year uh ala rainbow book list top 10 charts for young readers the junior Library Guild gold standard selection uh the reviews of this book are outstanding to hear the critics mention autistic anxious ADHD gay non-binary own identity different pronouns Judaism sensory overload queer coping mechanisms Etc the book um was also a Sydney Taylor book award honor and had many other nominations this book has several reviews that are favorable the book does have an award for its story and context uh another question we had to answer uh ensure that the material meets the Lexington School District 2 materials selection guidelines the book does meet the criteria of the board policy and is appropriate this material meets the Lexington School District 2 guidelines as it is a broad range of materials with diversity of viewpoints
015abilities and interests that tax is extremely appropriate and provides real-life real-world examples this book will help students better understand other students with autism and will be more compassionate and learn how to help them the book does meet the criteria of the board policy as appropriate and this is a compound question we had to answer weigh the value and faults of the material against each other and form opinions based on material the material as a whole we're reading or listening to this work result in a more compassionate understanding of human beings does this work offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups are questionable elements of this work an important part of the overall development of the story or text this book does mention
016and explore the use of pronouns one character wants to use they them the main character decides she wants to use she they pronouns in this book there is a boy who breaks up with a girl because he likes boys the main character also is adjusting to the idea that she likes girls one character does not identify as a male or female the book has readers think mostly about treatment of people with Autism and people who are questioning their gender identity this book is an outstanding example of how Ellen brings the light to real life situations that individuals are struggling with they can also relate to he or she is just like me this is not making a child feel pressured reading or listening to this book definitely results in a more compassionate understanding of human
017beings the excuse me it also talked about couples and chaperones on a field trip uh that were of the same sex uh know this book uh uh is not a book that uh is a door to educate our Future Leaders we need to love and support our kids not Rob them with educational material that they do not receive at home uh the language barriers that we Face new language how to navigate and and more so bring awareness to other cultures the book talks about food limitations we have this happen all the time due to kids kids religions and other kids question why those kids are get a special meal they are not educated there is no judgment in open Communication in this book this book addresses the uses of relationships to tell a story it
018has a lot of Illusion in the detail of how sexual orientation in people brings about feelings and friendships the does meet the criteria board policy and is appropriate the book can definitely help students who are struggling with who they are but it can also promote Lifestyle Changes in younger students so the outcome from eight one uh the committee motion to do the following with the title uh the book was retained on a vote of 41. thank you Mr Chapman I'll entertain a motion Madam chair I make a motion to uphold the committee's decision to retain Ellen outside the line by AJ sass have a motion by Ms Kessler do I have a second second by Ms castles board members any discussion or questions Miss Whitten okay um I do have a few questions um I
019want to make sure so the number of books of Ellen outside the line that we have in the entire district is one is that correct Dr Hefner uh yes ma'am located at a middle school and it has been checked out a total of three times period correct okay is it anywhere connected to any curriculum or required reading no ma'am okay thank you very much that leads me to one question how long has it been in the library to be checked out three times exactly nine months 10 months last summer anything else okay um no other questions then board members all in favor of the motion to retain the book signify by raising your hand and saying I I all those uh opposed and wish for the removal of the book raise your hand and signify
020by saying no okay four to three the book is retained and now we're moving on to me and the white supremacy and I believe this is a call-in complainant thank you hmm things like that last night it was like that at the last meeting it was okay I'm going to put you on the speakerphone okay all right Miss Hendricks wait a minute we can't hold on until I can speak again miss Hendricks can you hear me now yes that'll do it yes right very good well good afternoon unfortunately my schedule would not allow me to be with you all in person today so I do appreciate the accommodation so I can participate in this appeal virtually um me and white supremacy by Layla said is currently available to all high school students in Lexington too
021a district appointed Committee of seven staff members and One Singular parent met on July 24th to evaluate this book I believe it is important to note that one of the Librarians that houses this book served on the committee that voted to keep it in circulation to be clear this is a blatant conflict of interest and undermines the impartiality of the committee results I had the privilege to speak with the parent who served on the committee and she uh was very frustrated and disheartened by the unfair makeup of the committee I'm sure you all are familiar with the settlement Lexington one school district made with the South Carolina Freedom caucus Ms Hendricks if that can interrupt you one second we're trying to ask that our complainants limit their comments to just the book and the concerns
022with the book rather than expounding on other other issues and situations that's what we've requested at the beginning of the meeting tonight okay all right well I'll continue then with uh where I left off I think I think we should be caught up in I'm sure you all are familiar with the settlement Lexington one school district made with the South Carolina Freedom caucus on their critical race Theory lawsuit under South Carolina law schools may not use State Monies to teach the following critical race Theory ideas number one One race or sex is inherently Superior to another racer sex number two that an individual by virtue of his race or sex is inherently racist sexist or oppressive whether consciously or unconsciously number three an individual's moral standing or worth is determined by his race or sex
023number four that an individual by virtue of his racer sex Bears responsibility for the actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex number five that an individual should feel discomfort guilt anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex number six that meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic or are racist or sexist or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race and number seven that fault blame or bias should be assigned to a race or sex critical race Theory contradicts America's Central promise within the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal critical race theory has been rebranded as anti-racism culturally responsive teaching and diversity equity and inclusion the Lexington one settlement States
024schools that adhere to these doctrines teach that students are oppressors or oppressed based on skin color and sex these practices perpetuate racial casts within schools leading impressionable young students to resent each other and themselves because of the color of their skin the book we are discussing today exists to feed this narrative the title itself is incriminating each chapter presents a different way that white people are wrong perhaps by fault of their own but nevertheless they are stained by their whiteness and must do the work to defeat their inner white demons about the text for reflection asking the reader to commit to doing and being better and to hold other white people accountable as well I am not denying that racism exists and I would never want to minimize the injustices of racism however this book
025and others like it reduce us all to our race and by extension our identity as oppressed or oppressor again the task that is before you this afternoon is to determine what is appropriate for an educational environment while I disagree wholeheartedly with the tenets of critical race Theory I do believe in the freedom of ideas that is why I support access to this book and others like it in the marketplace in the public library system and in college graduate courses for mature audiences that have the faculty students to discern these ideas for themselves however critical race theory has no place being presented to minors in their school libraries in fact it is illegal per the 2022-2023 Appropriations bill h-5150 School libraries must be selective in choosing titles that support the educational values and goals of the
026school district this book and others like it do not contribute to the academic advancement of our students before we find ourselves in a similar situation to our friends in Lexington one I hope you will take a hard look at what is being presented to our student body and nip these cancerous ideologies in the bud thank you and thank you Miss Hendricks and thank you for participating via remotely and I'm going to leave her on but put her on mute so she can listen in okay and our committee chair for this one is um Miss Cribbs Jennifer thank you Mrs hello I've got you on speakerphone but I [Music] good evening Miss Hendricks can you hear this or not okay it was okay uh good evening Madam chair members of the board Dr Hafner I'm going
027to follow the same format that Mr Chapman did we'll read the question and then share the commentary from the committee so for me and white supremacy what is the overall purpose of this book did it accomplish that purpose the purpose of the book was to bring awareness of race issues and to examine the concept of white privilege it asked readers to go on a 28-day journey in this area and self-reflect the book did discuss the topic in depth and asked tough questions regarding race and politics encourage and invite and advise white people on how to combat racism and support minorities respectfully identifies and explains unintended biases using historical facts movies social media Etc also explains these biases and how they affect minorities uh yes I believe the purpose was accomplished the topic of the book
028is a difficult and uncomfortable topic so it makes sense that the reader may be uncomfortable while reading it however the author repeatedly encourages the reader to continue because through the difficulty there is good to come out of it better understanding and a common goal this book lends itself to a reflective type of book study or self-reflection to challenge the white supremacy and systemic racism present in American history and current culture the purpose of this book was to provide information to readers on white supremacy Prejudice stereotypes and other biases that impact day-to-day life yes it does accomplish this with research and evidence the purpose is to identify biases within race and asks the reader for self-reflection the purpose is to make white people aware of their of their white privilege this book could have been a
029two-page article as it repeated the same message over and over but never offered a solution to the problem the overall purpose of me and white supremacy is to try and shed light on discriminations that the white Community has toward people of color I feel the book does accomplish this however in the process demonizes white people uh the next prompt check General acceptance of the material by reading reviews and Consulting recommended lists and awards Goodreads awarded 4.35 out of 5. Common Sense Media was five out of five general acceptance is for grades nine and older by the school library Journal um it's on bestseller lists and has many positive reviews negative reviews as well by independent readers on Amazon many readers felt the book described what white people do wrong but did not tell how to
030do it better others did not like the negativity overall reviews average 4.5 out of 5 some individuals had mixed reviews on retail sites like Amazon positive credible reviews from multiple sources the age range for the book is 5 to 12. the overall acceptance of me and white supremacy per reviews is both is mixed both positive and negative the next prompt is to ensure the material meets the Lexington School District 2 materials selection guidelines it is available in high school libraries only it supports the principles of the freedom to learn and read freedom of inquiry is vital to education in a democracy it's intended for a high school audience but is not a required read the book in question is not being used in classrooms this book would be used for Choice reading and would provide
031readers with Insight time to reflect and questions to consider their role in understanding race relations this is not required reading it is accessible through the library for interested high school students board policy IJ is referring to instructional materials used in the classroom for my knowledge this book is not required reading for any course but is available in school libraries board policy ijl refers to materials in the school library this book tackles a very sensitive topic that could lead to high emotions I would suggest that students who read this book be able to digest the information with other adults and the parents and Guardians be made aware of the subject matter being discussed me and white supremacy meets board policy guidelines for the next prompt weighing the value of the material against against each other and
032forming opinions based on the material as a whole so the first question under that kind of multi-question section is Will reading or listening to this work result in a more compassionate understanding of human beings two committee members simply commented yes yes for people of color and communities this entire book demonizes White heterosexual Christian people specifically males I think this book might have the opposite effect I think this book does tackle a subject that our society has struggled with in the past and present I'm concerned with the younger students reading the material without proper guidance in my opinion it does favor a particular political view the next prompt does this work offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups I do believe the book
033asks the reader to consider other viewpoints for minorities in other cultures however I believe some of its purpose gets lost in the political debate two committee members simply commented yes no this book does a better job shaming white people than it does shedding light on the wrongs committed toward people of color Yes the challenges of people of color in the United States the next prompt are questionable elements of this work an important part of the overall development of the story or text I don't think there are questionable elements yes the book's intent is to address uncomfortable ideas to get a reaction and make the reader reflect there is no questionable content this book is non-fiction and rooted in facts and research from credible resources I do believe the book asks some tough questions and offers
034the reader the opportunity for self-reflection during the 28-day process however I think it's political agendas sometimes outweigh the initial purpose by making wide-reaching statements that generalize people yes this book should should not be yes this book should not be available in school libraries I'm sorry these types of non-fiction novels only add more Division and children should not be fueled by an author's opinion this book would be a great tool or resource for any reader each chapter ends with a recap reflect and respond this tool allows readers to examine their biases and to check their privilege if this book is utilized correctly readers will be able to gain greater understanding of not only themselves but others as well the author provides definitions of terms and in-depth analysis of the terms in order to increase reader awareness
035so that's those were all the comments and the majority opinion of the district committee is to retain me and white supremacy at the high school level I'll entertain a motion motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain me and white supremacy by Layla sad I have a motion by Ms Kessler and to have a second second by Miss castles board members any comments questions discussions and I have Mr Bray and then miss Alford Wooten thank you ma'am um Madam chair first thing I want to note on the comments from that we have read the there was one bullet I'll read it it said the overall purpose of me in white supremacy is to try and shed light on discriminations the White Community has towards people of color I feel the book does accomplish this
036however in the process demonizes a word that was pretty crucial was left out of there it demonizes all white people so just a correction on kind of what was read there the other question I had is in the first um the first book appeal we had we had a actual a vote count for the school committee and this one we just have majority we know if what that majority was it was a general discussion with a vote to retain the book not with the hands but a general we feel type of vote so there was on a vote count not a vocab it was a majority of the group I can't say absolute all but I can say it was a majority I don't mean to be combative but how do we know if it's
037a majority if we don't have a count the committee chair the report of the committee chair okay and then I just want to note that this is non-fiction so that's all I have thank you madam chair okay Miss offered wooden okay uh and again um I want there's just two books in The District correct doctor yes ma'am one at each high school and it's been checked out four times and you know how long it's been in our library yes one high school it was added in April of 2022 and at the other in June of 22. okay thank you you're welcome any other questions or comments okay being none um board members again all those in favor of retaining the book raise your hand please and signify by saying aye aye aye all those who
038pose um and like the book to be removed please raise your hand and signify by saying no four to three and the book is retained at the high school level thank you Miss Hendricks we appreciate you participating remotely um next we have woke a young poet's call to Justice and I believe we have Miss Melanie Shull good evening before the 15 minutes starts I would like to say that um this particular book I was invited to come to the school level um review and then when I showed up for the school level review I was told I was not welcome and then once that that took place it was never communicated but was assumed that anyone that has a complaint is now not welcome at the school level committees just wanted to make that clear
039um and then so let's move on with the book no one is Banning or censoring anything we are focused on the rebuilding of safe boundaries in school libraries and classrooms just like you do for your own children in your own home to protect their innocence and the these are minor children and to guard the hearts and minds of our teams while in the care of Lex 2 Educators so let me repeat we are focused on what is appropriate for minors here in Lexington too and in their classrooms and nothing else the arousal of distrust and unfounded guilt in the hearts of minors is stoked by the woke social justice movement it has incited fires violence Injustice racial division hate a victimhood mentality outright lies and has turned schools and universities across this nation into social
040experimental Labs special again okay I don't remember that part being in the book go ahead everything the social justice Warriors say they are against they are actually for the best example of this is how co-authors Jason Reynolds and Ibraham kindy of the book stamped and stamped for kids which are in our media centers believe that they are the saviors of our nation and if we are to be saved then we must fight Injustice with Injustice fight racism with racism and fight hate with hate the mindset promotes hate Division and even Revenge evoking revenge and guilt into the minds of children for something they did not do nor have any responsibility for is absurd and dangerous no one wins and the ones who lose the most are the children and generations to come Jason Reynolds wrote
041the forward in the book that I'm appealing tonight anyone who thinks woke a young poet's call to social justice is not part of the radical social justice movement is turning a blind eye and ignoring a serious root problem the title tells you all you need to know anyone who thinks this collection of poems is not designed to sow seeds of discourse Insight anger confusion and promote race hate is ignoring the obvious anyone who believes that skin color determines the attitude of a person's heart has been duped by the oldest lie in the political activist Arsenal it's not an Educators nor an author's job to pronounce judgment onto someone because of their skin color only God can see the heart judge a person's motives and ultimately redeem a repentant soul but by having woke and other
042books like it in our libraries Lexington 2 has made a bold statement proclaiming yes we do have the authority to judge Hearts based on the person's skin color sex and or religious beliefs this infers that Lex 2 doesn't care that the book's light woke stamped for stamp kids me and white supremacy the black friend and so on are in violation of the South Carolina Proviso Lexington two's unwillingness to be proactive will soon cost our district much woke is written for minors children should be protected from confusion not injected with confusion woke should be removed for the poem Alone on page 26 which lies to children it says imagine a rainbow now imagine a rainbow without just seven colors but hundreds of colors the lights and Darks of every shade neon colors in between colors colors
043you're not sure what to call now imagine that someone points to this rainbow and says there are only two colors imagine that this person says that one color is a boy and the other is a girl what would you say maybe you would run your hand along it like a river point to all the cues and tones maybe you would ask how can you say that look at how many there are the truth is there are so many shades between boy and girl people who are neither people who are both people who live somewhere in the middle we don't have to choose we can just be to use the Myriad of shades of colors in a real rainbow and then falsely compare it to the Myriad of Make-Believe shades of gender on a sex spectrum
044is evil and a lie an overwhelming majority of children would never even entertain the delusional idea that they could be living in a boy body with a girl brain and vice versa if seeds were not planted through books by delusional authors who think their own alternate reality is real people trapped inside these alternate realities need mental health counseling and compassion not a contract to write children's books as a recent testimony proved on Capitol Hill after a doctor who performs gender reassignment surgeries was asked by a Committee Member Michelle the success of the surgery she said so according to your testimony we can confirm that gender reassignment surgery has a 100 percent failure rate because no one can change their sex and the doctor confirmed that is correct all of the radical books and material bought
045taught and peddled in the past four to five years is a result of an evil destructive agenda against children these Peddlers undermine parental Authority pit children against their parents parents against Educators and even children against children all of it has led to a vast amount of mistrust so if we want to see how woke a young poet's called to Justice fears under the ijl policy bullet points that the Committees have looked at let's look at those and give an appropriate answer appropriateness of language the language in woke is inappropriate for children it's divisive confusing confusing and is a call to political social justice activism for ages 9 to 12. does it meet the need of the school in a value to the collection the book woke does not meet the needs of any school in
046our district and does not add educational value to the collection of books or materials children don't need to be concerned with activism when they need to be learning the basics of Reading Writing and math validity accuracy objectivity up to daintenance and appropriateness of text first the term up to dateness isn't even a thing this book is not valid it's not accurate and is definitely not objective and therefore is not appropriate for students in Lexington too appropriate diversification of viewpoints there's only one Viewpoint in this book it's not intended to be fair and balanced it was written with the intent of seeding confusion race hate promotes the dismantling of our country and it leads children away from the truth High artistic quality and or literary style the artistic value is null and void since it depicts
047illustrations for invalid inaccurate and non-objective content the literary value is also null and void because it doesn't qualify based on the points already mentioned High degree of readability and or comprehensibility again the degree of readability or comprehensibility is irrelevant since it has already failed prior criteria but the comprehensibility of these poems is difficult for children to understand reputation and significance of the author and producer the author mahogany brown in particular is a social justice political activist anyone who writes books to influence babies um toward being woke is already an author to ignore quotes from her woke baby book say woke babies are up early woke babies raise their fist in the air woke babies cry out for justice woke babies grow up to change the world values commensurate with cost absolutely not this is a
048waste of our taxpayer dollars meets expectations and values of schools Community according to the thousands of community members I've encountered over the last two years woke a young poet's called a Justice doesn't even come close to meeting the expectations or sound values of Lexington too now let's see if an unbiased critique of woke is possible with the bias questions that were posed to the committee will reading or listening to this work result in a more compassionate understanding of human beings this is a leading question with no element for critiquing the book's message so no compassion is not the author's goal recruiting minors to join the woke Army is the goal two does this work offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups this
049question again is leading me to answer on the basis of bias so again no this work is written to stir up feelings in Children of hate based on skin color radical political activism to further divide people over their beliefs and differences our questionable elements of this work an important part of the overall development of the story or text based on the extreme bias of this question I am I am as a Committee Member or if I was not given the opportunity to express the real issues surrounding the book The question is designed to dismiss the complainant's objections to the content of the book by only pointing to the context in the author's goal this is not even a reasonable question so everyone should decline to answer isn't it time to examine how we got here
050tonight and to get back to what schools were designed to do educate the fact that we are here should be very concerning to parents it means the men the that many in our of our school administrators and staff agree with the woke mindset this philosophy of education does not align with the common sense values of this very diverse Community please for the sake of the children it's time for Lexington 2 to remove this book and many others like it from our school libraries and classrooms and re-establish our commitment to being Champions for Children and one further note if if a book is in a library it's also available for children in the classroom thank you so much thank you Miss Shaw and um from the committee who do we have Dr Hafner Mr Chapman Please
051Mr Chapman once again good evening Madam chair school board members and Dr Hafner I'm going to give my a portion from my committee uh which was held on 8-1 uh and the book that uh that we were reviewing was woke a young poet's call to Justice by mahogany L Brown uh once again my committee consisted of five individuals holding various positions in the school district from teachers to District level Administration more specifically District administrator uh school counselor two teachers one media specialist uh a parent was invited to participate and two other teachers were invited to participate uh on that day the committee ended up retaining uh at the elementary and middle school level uh and then once again we we have a few prompts to to answer and which got us to uh our decision
052and I'm going to read those what is is the overall purpose of this book did a did it accomplish this purpose this book of poetry and poems uh promoted and appreciated diversity there were poems that focus on being comfortable with who you are as well as respecting others one poem was about a child in a wheelchair another was about a child who wore lots of colors and had braces but didn't care what others thought of her it honors people from all walks of life from different races and different abilities it also encourages children to stand up for what is right and to stand up for stand up for those who can't do it themselves uh the overall purpose of this book was to provide education on social injustice and how we can use our voices
053to be leaders and to stand up to others and how one should not stand by and let someone be mistreated by anyone everyone should be treated equally the overall purpose of this book was to bring a focus to equality social injustices and activism the book does accomplish this uh we had to check the general acceptance of the material by reading the reviews and Consulting recommended lists and awards book lists and so and school library Journal both agreed that it is a reminder that our voice is our greatest power from the publisher topics relating to social justice activism discrimination and empathy focusing on the need to speak out and inspiring middle middle school graders book list says that it is a title worth adding to any youth poetry collection after researching the book I did not
054see many reviews the ones that I did find gave the book an average 4.5 out of 5 stars but did not go into great detail as to why the book was a finalist for the Jane Adams children's book award the book has a few reviews that bring insight to the major theme and the motivation behind the book although the book is a well-written compilation Nation it has not received no reviews or Awards we had to ensure that the material meets the Lexington School District Two material selection guide uh this book does meet the criteria the book is a collection of poems written by African-American women that are focused on social social justice and activism in the fight for racial equality the book does accomplish this goal in a unique literary fashion the book does meet
055the criteria of board policy and is appropriate the title vote gets the book on the questioning list in the book they Define woke as to be aware it means to see your surroundings and challenge how we strengthen our relationship with the government the community and nature it did include a few poems that focus on racial injustices and gender identity we also had to weight the value of the faults of the material against each other and form opinions based on material the material as a whole uh we're reading or listening to this work was so any more compassionate understanding of human beings does this work offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups are questionable elements of this work an important part of the
056overall development of the story or texts this book is a collection of poems that discusses equality each poem causes the readers to think about issues that they may not see on a daily basis these poems may help students understand the struggles of their peers this collection of poems does provide the opportunity to understand and better appreciate different cultures and or minority groups the poems are accompanied by illustrations that help the reader understand the poem some of the pictures might be interpreted in a negative way though this collection of poems discusses topics that are sensitive this book is a collection of poems to make students think about social issues in the African-American Community it also serves as a reflection of the contributions of many civil rights activists that have lived the book does not reflect any
057strong opinions that may misguide young students it reminds me of more modern poetry Styles or spoken word the book addresses many situations or concern returns that have happened in history or that are currently happening Happening by putting it in the form of poetry it gives the reader a chance to reflect and visualize the fight for justice the only thing that may be touchy in this book is that many of the poems address discrimination and racism so uh the outcome from uh eight one was the committee the committee motion to do the following with the title uh at the elementary school level it was retained uh with a vote count of three to two and it was also retained at the middle school level with a vote count of four to one thank you Mr Chapman
058I'll entertain a motion motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain woke a young poet's called to Justice by mahogany brown at the elementary level okay have a motion by Miss Kessler a second second by Miss castles four members any questions comments discussion Ms Alfred Wooten um yes okay um so we have six books total and they're at one Elementary and three middle schools yes ma'am and how long has this book been in our district it was added to two middle schools in January of 21. one Elementary School in April of 21 and a third Middle School in November of 21. so all in 2021 okay and it has been checked out a total of 51 times 51 times across those four schools okay and I also um actually I'm going to agree with
059Mr Bray on this in the future I would like to know what the school committee vote was not a majority vote I think we need to know if it was 415132 whatever yes ma'am the record in front of me man I'm going to go back and repeat what I said at the first board meeting um this board member is going to have to support our teachers our School administrators and our district administrators we have a process in place and I'm going to have to support it thank you Sky Madam chairman would you hold that book up please cover or just what you have open I I um I'm around adolescence a lot now I have four boys but I'm an early childhood person at heart and I thought it was a beautiful book I loved
060illustrations and um I think one of the things I absolutely love about this District because I do love this District this is family this is home is it's diversity and I don't feel like my kids they're all very different have ever felt that their differences with their peers and Friends have ever made them feel like they were at fault or any less of themselves um I think they realize a lot of times how blessed they are but I wasn't going to speak tonight but this kind of book touched my heart and this was a perfect example uh a child now who is a senior was in kindergarten it was bedtime and it was prayer time and afterwards he got choked up and started telling me by the way I don't know if he Minds me
061sharing this intimate moment but but um anyway he he was very upset and I was trying to find out what it was and he said mama just I just felt bad for so and so they don't know their colors and and they can't even speak English but I will never forget that because reading you know now they learn to read you have to be reading in kindergarten and yes that's important especially coming from our early childhood teacher but that message what he was learning was empathy he got that that kid was working 10 times harder than him and that that was a smart kid and when they go in his classrooms I don't know but they become a family and I think he learned something much even more valuable than arithmetic and reading and that
062was empathy and I I think it's wonderful and I think that's a great book and I hope I would love for it to be in all of our libraries so thank you that's all thank you Miss castles four members and anybody else Madam chair Mr Brown thank you uh no parent was in the district to vote or the school vote no parent at the district level they were invited but chose not to attend I think that is all I have thank you four members anybody else um yes sir is the um I know we weren't making changes to the amending the um gosh my no kec the motion but is this motion for both middle and elementary it's Elementary just Elementary gotcha thank you yeah um and I'm basically trying to run meetings in and
063not comment but this is a book that really I would have to say did touch my heart I realized as a country we have far far left we have far far right but the truth of the matter is the majority of us are in a cone about this big we're not way out here on either side and I realize that certain words are being used and and in some cases weaponized and and by just saying a word sometimes um and interestingly woke is a four-letter word it just all of a sudden creates some type of feelings in people and makes them automatically assume certain things but I just want to be sure because the book did touch me and because without this process I never would have seen and read this book and this is
064a book that I'm going to invest in and I'm going to buy for when I have grandchildren but since you got we've already heard one passage I want to read another poem to you called The Gift of Grace forgive me the most lonely request I know it requires the gift of Grace like a horse looping around Central Park slow and metered the wind can tell when the body is holding more weight than it can hold this is how an apology Begins the bags holstered to the back across the shoulders and the neck the heaviness of disappointment the sadness is so lonely alone and alone sometimes the wind picks up speed sometimes the sky is still howling sometimes you have to wait for the quiet rain and let the storm pass and try again I'm sorry
065I made a mistake forgive me a humble request such a beautiful song and there are so many other poems like this this book to me and and some of the other books are are don't deal with it in in this sensitive manner but it was gentle it was loving it was inclusive it's celebrated diversity and that's what we have in our community and that's what we have in our schools and that is that is something that we should be celebrating so I appreciate the opportunities you have been exposed to this book so um with that all those in favor of keeping the book signify by saying aye and raising your hand I all those opposed um signified arrays in your hand and saying no okay so four to three the book remains at the middle
066school level I'll entertain a motion for the um at the elementary school level I'll meet entertain a motion for the Middle School level motion to a public book committee's decision to retain work a young points called a Justice by mahogany brown I have a mission by Miss Kessler to have a second second by Miss castles board members any questions or discussion on the motion to retain at the middle level hearing none all those in favor of retaining at the middle school level please signify by saying aye and raise your hand I I and all those who oppose um and want to get rid of it at the middle school level please raise your hand and signify by saying no and so it passes it will be retained five to two at the middle school level
067thank you for everyone's participation this evening again I thank our um people who've served on our committees and appreciate everybody taking their time to be here we are going to move on now to uh some old business we're going to be starting to deal with some policies and you certainly are welcome to stay we will not be offended if people want to leave at this time we are still in our full policy review and again these policies will be mostly coming before us at our next board meeting so board members if you can give me a second we're going to let people who did not want to stay for policies tonight go ahead and leave the room if they would like thank you for coming this evening okay four members if some of you have
068online or paper copies and get those pulled back out and Mr Atkins we so appreciate the wizard behind the curtain up there if you can pull up our policies um and bring us to miss Kessler you're going to tell us who's going to go first yeah or not who but what's going to go first what policy yeah what policy yeah I will it's BC okay BC and this Kessler has her hand raised I do um there were some several things on BC that was not struck if you will look on the first page and down at bullet number nine and bullet number 12 are repeats so you want to strike through those two on the page two if you'll look at bullet five that is also a repeat and somehow um the attorney did not
069pick up on that okay board members do I have anybody else with any other comments or questions or and when we do have somebody from Ashley I apologize this is somebody from Ashley Sarah from Ashley white and story's office I believe many of you have met her in the past at some of our law conferences and welcome tonight Miss Sarah um so if you have any questions for her at this time on BC just one give me one second I'll give this player one here okay any other questions comments discussion on BC if not miss customer I'm going to ask that you keep us moving and tell us what we're going to be used okay we're looking at b d e thank you on board committees and board members are there any questions comments discussion
070on this um for Sarah BDF all right then next we're going to move on to BDF this is advisory committees board members any questions comments discussion for BDF and some of these as you remember board members are ones that were pulled and modified so there's three pages of new sections completely new so you may have a question on that I did not so as Ms Kessler's pointing out there were three pages attached to this that are completely new um you may have questions on that she did not but just she wanted to point that out for board members BDF Madam chair are these between first and second reading right now we're treating this kind of Workshop right now this is a workshop I apologize yes it's workshop on and we're going to try to move
071for second reading if it looks like we don't have any major directions or discussions thank you did and I might it might be down here but do we have a bdfr yeah we do okay gotcha but it's all strong completely all right and it would be uh removed we can look at b d f Dash R and that would be under Mr yep good found us it's under the administrative rules or the bottom those were struck out board members any questions um for Sarah or any comments so that will be removed combined exactly correct yes ma'am okay great miss Kessler CBC all right CBC superintendent powers and responsibilities question and Miss Kessler um you'll also notice a new section there a new statement there in the very first paragraph that's not struck out in the
072meeting last time we struck out we unstruck all of the all their comments under the superintendents were not struck out today they're struck out they weren't supposed to be however in reading through those statements they are covered in what was struck in the last copy under curriculum development and I happen to have had I think I brought a copy of it so that you could see what I mean I have the last statement see that [Music] made those changes so the policies that I have I'm looking at are different than what you have I've made the changes where you guys didn't want these things struck out I've done that okay and I want to make a statement to the board and to everybody now we don't need different copies of these because we've gotten different
073copies of multiple policies which makes it far more difficult to go through and read I will say to this board that what has been done will work for this board policy as we approve for the first reading because they've been covered in the next three pages so the fact that you've got the new copy and you've got you've had time to read through it but I think you'll agree with me the policies is actually covered even the new one yes but see the last time we we wanted all those bullets in and we added higher principles but now we don't need it because it you have covered it in the other but I did need to tell you that I think we're on the second reading we'll be our next reading correct correct all right
074we're members any other questions on CBC if not miss Kessler Cece administrative organization and org chart any questions discussion comments Kessler none okay we're going to keep moving CCA don't let me go too fast but miss Kessler and I are going to keep this moving unless you you know holler and scream at us so what are we going CCA CCA and that's to remove so CCA was um yep to remove now here in the next I get a little bit confused because we have CCA Dash e which has not been in any of the others but it appeared here because we're going to adapt cc-r as the new chart correct so why is CCA Dash e in here the other one was CCE was which was removed that's what confused me so this is just
075removed but it's the other one was CCE it the numbers yeah the letters just don't add up okay CFA CFA School principal building administrators and it looks like we added student attendance yes Ms Kessler any other questions that's it for me appreciate board members for catching that all right let's ef ef Food Service here we have several if I may go first yes ma'am we have several issues if you look at the first green statement eligibility for students to receive that whole statement needs to be struck since we no longer have um applications and if you turn to page two the two the first two uh paragraphs in Black print the district will not and then the administration will establish those two paragraphs also need to be omitted for the same reason Madam's here yep
076didn't we consider not fully striking that since this is just a three-year policy uh the current food thing and putting a note to it or not we did suggest to add the verbiage uh unless while participating in the cep however this is what Miss Kessler is referring to is really about the free and reduced forms and Food Services no longer manages those forms at all albeit it is important that we give our parents and families an opportunity to fill out a form that they have a reduced income in their home to be utilized in other areas that the school can keep up with as far as maybe some other fees go or field trips and that thing as that pertains if we take it out of the Food Service policy I would just state that
077should we ever not be in cep in the future we need to be sure to add that back in and you will make a note to that so your is your recommendation to take it out or just to know I would take it out for now but let's make sure that it's in another section about student participation in school activities so Sarah you make that note for us and um thank you Miss Kessler and and I would note or remind board members that we actually first got this review done Sarah y'all I think y'all did this for us and what two 20 20 21 so it's been a while and some things have changed so miss Kessler what's next uh ihcf and you'll notice the correction there has been changed from will to May remembers
078any questions will to May okay Miss Kessler Ike i-k-e okay yeah there yes it is at the bottom those of you following Along online it's the last one promotion and retention of students board members any questions comments concerns on this one okay then Ike Dash r does Elementary promotion standards and I think this was changed from the testing names to just State assessments which is a good change remember there's any questions comments concerns Ms Kessler IL evaluation of instructional programs any questions there was it has been corrected this blue statement is the new statement scheduled board meeting in April okay thank you so much aobb ilbb State program assessments board members any questions comments concerns on this policy okay and I think we made it through all of them any questions comments concerns on that
079old business and again we're not asking for a vote on that this evening we will be considering and moving a great number of policies through to um the next board meeting board members um before I go to announcements and then we go into executive session I would like to ask that everyone please check your calendars for October and please let me know the following let me get my dates up we did recognize that the BC Foundation dinner got scheduled for October 19th which is the same night as I regularly scheduled board meeting and so we want to um go ahead and probably move our we're not going to probably we're going to move our board meeting from that night I'm going to ask you not to commit tonight but to at least email either Miss
080Kessler or me if you can be available October 24th that's a Tuesday or October 26th that's a Thursday if you can just let me know which one of that Tuesday or Thursday you are best able to have our regularly scheduled board meeting for October okay any questions about that okay then being none at 5 15 p.m Thursday September 21st we're going to be back here out there actually and we're going to be recognizing our employees for their service we're having a reception and recognition we invite not only the employees and their families who are being recognized but we invite other people in their schools to come celebrate with us celebrating them in their service and then at 6 PM we're going to have our regular board meeting in here at the auditorium and that will
081also be televised as well for those of you who like to watch from your home and then Wednesday September 27th is an early release day and with that I will entertain a motion to move into executive session miss Kessler I make a motion that the Board of Trustees enter closed session for the receipt of legal advice Kessler and a second by Miss um castles all those in favor signify by saying aye okay motion cares and we are now in executive session thank you for joining us this evening and no action was taken an executive session and we have no motions as a result of executive session but I will entertain a motion up you got to make a motion Ms Kessler I believe is making a motion that the meeting be reconvened in Open Session
082and the appropriate affidavit executed we should have done that first seconded by Miss Rucker and again no votes were taken in executive session and we have no business to vote on after executive sessions I'll entertain a motion to adjourn by Miss Alford Wooten second by Miss Rucker and we stand adjourned thank you