Special Called Meeting of the Board of Trustees - August 22, 2023

001foreign good evening I'd like to call to order the special meeting of the Board of Trustees first of all I'd like to begin this evening by thanking everyone for coming out tonight in support of our children regardless of which view you take on the books before us I would also like to thank the teachers Librarians staff members parents and administrators who participated in the book challenges at either the district or the school level your hard work on this process has been invaluable I would remind those in the audience this evening and those watching at home that we are all better as a district and as a community when we practice civility children are watching and we need to model appropriate and civil Behavior one of the greatest lessons that we may be able to teach

002our children from this process is that we as adults May disagree over issues issues that can be very controversial and that go to the heart of our own beliefs and even our own faith but at the end at the end we can civilly give our point of view and accept that there will be some who will agree with us and some who will not and that that is okay we can still love our neighbors even when we differ in opinion with them to that end we have heard from some people that we have staff members and or parents on these committees who have been made to feel uncomfortable in their communities because of their participation and work on these committees we have heard of Staff members and or parents who have been made to feel

003uncomfortable while serving on the Committees because of their viewpoint when I say the word uncomfortable I don't mean that you were challenged civilly are asked to consider a different Viewpoint I'm referring to uncomfortable as in being made to feel targeted I encourage you that if you are one of those people please let us know so that we can help and I encourage you that if you're one of those people who've made others feel uncomfortable by approaching them or posting about them that you please consider that while their Viewpoint may be vastly different from yours that they are still doing what they believe to be in the best interest of our children and that is why we are all here for the best interest of our children in our school district all of our children thank

004you Miss Kessler will you lead us in the pledge and I invite you to join me in prayer Lord Enlighten our minds with truth our hearts with love Inspire our will with courage and enrich our lives with service May grace mercy and peace be with each of us in Jesus name I pray amen thank you Miss Kessler and also like to recognize and welcome representative Micah Caskey who has joined us in the back thank you for coming next we will look at our consent agenda and that all that we have for tonight is the approval of the agenda so without objection the consent agenda will stand approved next on our agenda is um board policy kec so first of all I'd like to welcome Mr Thomas K Barlow from Halligan Mahoney and Williams who is

005one of our district attorneys and he's going to be here to provide us assistance tonight if we should need it um and Miss Kessler's in my 22 and a half years on this board we have never had a book appeal so this process is new to all of us the board policy for this process is addressed as board policy kec for a brief update as to the status of the book reviews the school district has had 30 titles submitted for review by complainants Under kec of those 30 books six titles were found by Administration to be unacceptable to remain on our library shelves through the district internal review process and they were removed prior to paperwork submission or immediately after paperwork submission of the 24 out of the 24 titles left 15 have been reviewed

006by District committee which leaves nine left to be reviewed by District committee of those 15 already reviewed by the district committee five outcomes were to remove the titles one was to restrict which was to take out of the middle school and keep it at the high school so that was challenged and nine to retain so far of the retained and restrict outcomes which equals 10 books eight have been appealed to the board we are hearing the first five of those appeals tonight and are scheduling to hear the other three Appeals the district plan on the nine left to be reviewed by District committee is to have three more committee meetings one reviewing three books one reviewing four books and one reviewing two books is my understanding that some of these meetings have been scheduled are

007either in the process of being scheduled one thing that has become very clear and has been a point of frustration from the side of the complainants the community and the side of District administration is that policy kec has a number of what I would call problems both in its fairness representation transparency and sheer implementation we have listened to the concerns of the complainants the community and the District administration and as a result I would like for this board to direct that revisions have to be made to policy kec moving forward again for fairness representation transparency and implementation we do however recognize that we still have nine books under review by District committee and three left to be scheduled to be heard by the board therefore I'm seeking a motion from the board to suspend policy

008kec and direct that Administration immediately meet with Will Edwards Cali luskusky and our team for more Bradley Myers and take to the attorneys all the issues identified with the policy by our complainants the community Administration so that moving forward we will have an impartial Fair representative and transparent policy process that will allow easier and more timely Administration the book's already under appeal will have to proceed forward under the process that we have used to this point and any books that are appealed from the time of this motion forward will use the procedures under the new policy kec once established and I assure you this board will make a commitment to do that policy changes very expeditiously I'll entertain a motion at this time here I make a motion to suspend policy kec and direct that

009the administration immediately meet with Will Edwards Callie Laskowski and our team from more Bradley Myers and take two of the attorneys all the issues identified with the policy by the complaintant community and the administration so that moving forward we will have a fair impartial representative and transparent policy process that will allow easier and more timely Administration the books already under appeal will proceed forward under the proceed a process we have been using at this point and any book that our appealed or books that are appealed from the time of this motion forward will use the procedures under the new policy kec I have a motion by Ms Kessler and a second by Ms Rucker board members do I have any discussion on the motion Ms Alfred Wooten um yes I've I just want to say

010that when when we start rewriting the policy you have to remember I think this is difficult for everyone in this room is that we have a process in place and sometimes you have to trust the process and we have these committees and we're asking you know our Administration our teachers our community members to be part of these committees and make very tough decisions what is best for our children so I as at this board member is going to with most of these try to go with the committee's recommendation because we have to trust our Administration and we have to trust the Committees to make the right recommendation on these books so I would ask that when we do start rewriting the policy we take that into consideration board members have any other questions comments for

011regarding the motion Miss castles well I'm not going to sound as eloquent as you but we had a lot of the same ideas and I I just really wanted to get it off of my chest I think we all know we are in some very challenging times but I do think that we are all here because we want what's best for our children and our Lexington two family and it is family um I want us to be very careful how we discuss things going forward because the tone and the words we use against others that have different views or that are different from us and how we handle and discuss these issues they are the lessons kind of like Miss Branham said they're the lessons and the Legacy that we leave for our community and

012our children to see again our employees teachers Librarians administrators parents they have put a tremendous time into this and I know they have not taken any of this lightly and handled a lot of it with prayer um there they should not most definitely be subject to demonizing shaming in forums like this or on social media now we are elected officials and we expect to be scrutinized that's fine bring it to us but not our employees otherwise we're doing exactly what we've been pushing hard across this country for our children for a long time and that's bullying so I will say one thing that I have uh thought was really neat is I've read more books this summer than I can remember in a long time and I think it's some of the books were good

013some of them were not so good but um we have some wonderful Librarians and we have some wonderful resources in our schools and isn't it wonderful thing to get lost in a book and have the love of reading and I think we want to remember that we can't forget that we have teachers that are trying to instill a love of learning and reading and alongside of this and trying to make the best decisions and come together reading does so much more than just teach reading skills thank you board members any other questions or comments please miss Rucker thank you so a part of the motion I just wanted to check and see to suspend policy kec to to review it and come back to us is part of that um and any audit of the

014current books that we have or would that be handled under another item later that's an awesome question um and Dr Hefner I know that um I believe you've been updating the board that we're under a full audit of our libraries thank you honestly for bringing that up I wish that I remembered to mention that Dr heaven we just speak really briefly to um the fact that we are auditing and what we're doing um regarding that process we have been working this summer to put together some documents to help our schools guide in culling through their stacks and looking and making decisions about what's appropriate to remain and what may need to be looked at and assessed by the administration in the building and with the assistance of the administrative staff at the district level the

015revision of policy kec would pure I'm sorry it's on there we go so we sorry I'll start over we've been working the summer to develop some guidelines to assist our school level employees with looking through their stacks and culling through the materials in their building and um the school administration is also working with our media Specialists and our teachers and having conversations about the materials in their classes moving forward this school year so I think that would be separate than kec purely being a process about how we want to move forward with the curriculum review and the Committees and the parameters of dates and time and members on those committees Etc that we found to be challenging all right thank you so much and I and I believe that 17 or 18 of the 24

016books that were under the review process um or copyright 2019 through 2022 so a lot of these are you know newer type books so if we can just keep that in mind as we're ordering and doing the audit thank you Madam chair yes yes that's loud um can you hear me can you hear me test test test thank you uh two things that I had did we have a no later than time on that suspension in the I didn't write it we didn't we do not just this as expeditiously as possible um we still have a number of books still left to read the number of books potentially going to be challenged so just from a sheer standpoint of we got to get through this current block um so I think what we want to

017do is we're going to begin work immediately after this motion is made today we're directing her I Believe Miss Kessler it was immediate um to get with the the attorneys and start working with that as you all know Thursday night all we're talking about is policy I would expect that at least a first draft or consideration of discussion of this should be on our agenda what is that September 7th board Workshop I would I would hope that our first rough look at changes to this would be on December I mean December September 7th so um I think that everybody board members community members um everybody recognizes that that we have a need to address this policy very expeditiously I just don't think we're going to have it addressed by Thursday night but September 7th is

018right around the corner and I would think that we want a new policy in place I would personally like to see it by the October board meeting would you be okay with a friendly um change to put a backstop of maybe December because if not this could go indefinitely and I don't think that's really I think everybody understands that I think you just heard them say we're going to do it as quickly as we can but that's all you could do is move as fast as they can they know the urgency of this agreed so the the reason for the backstop would simply be if other acts happen then it reinstates after December just so that it's we you have a right to everyone here to have some type of policy covering this after three

019months I I get that we'll do it quickly but I think three or four month back stop would make sense do you okay that that's that's something Miss Kessler made the motion to see if she wants a friendly Amendment as to a backstop date of December Mr bright perfect okay the the other item that I had is when they're drafting kec is the new spot if we can make sure that we put the Pico standard in there and in the uh whatever the AR is to it so that we cover those four areas of age sensitivity factual inaccuracies pervasive vulgarity and educational suitability I think if we can keep it to the law side and that keeps a bunch of ideologies and individual emotions that will be very helpful and that's all I have so

020okay I think what we'll do though is just in terms of the friendly Amendment all we're going to add and obviously we're going to discuss report but for the friendly Amendment um Miss stranger so you get the wording properly and I will hand you my copy later but it will be amended to um be um once established with a Target date of December at the latest or beginning with January 1st 2025 24. that um okay the currently existing kec policy would be reinstituted if there's not a new policy in place perfect yeah and the other was just discussion for it great thank you okay any more discussion okay all those in favor signify by saying aye aye aye opposed and motion carries thank you board members um okay now we're on to section B the

021determination of appeals and I want to explain how we're going to review each book individually and I apologize again for reading to y'all as you know as a high school teacher not an elementary school teacher so I'm not good at you know looking up and showing you pictures but I do think it's important to be really clear about our process that we're using tonight so that's why I'm reading um we're going to review each book individually following this format the complainant will have up to 15 minutes timed to discuss his or her concerns and the board has been given a packet with those concerns in full and as well as the district's committee response we have that in full that we've all reviewed prior to coming to this meeting the district committee chair for that

022book will do them individually we'll have up to 15 minutes timed to give all the committee totals and read the comments of the committee members Miss Kessler is then going to at that time make a motion to uphold the recommendation of the district to retain or restrict at whatever level the committee recommended Ms castles will second that motion I will open discussion for board members to speak as to that book or any questions with the understanding for those in the community that as this is an appeal process rather than us debating a book we're not in a debate process we're in an appeal process so board members may decide to vote on what they've either reviewed in the packets or what they're hearing live tonight from either the complainant or the district committee and the

023board members may choose to not make any personal comment we will then take a vote the board members can vote I which would be a yes vote to retain or they can vote no which would be a vote not to retain and the majority of course will determine whether the book is retained or not I also want to make very clear that just because Miss Kessler is making all the Motions in the affirmative and Ms castles is second that that is not their vote and that they are 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 the books being heard on appeal tonight will be bathe the cat the passing Playbook groan tilt and the hate you give

024and we're going to begin with bathe the cat and I welcome to the podium Miss Melanie Shaw good evening Dr Hafner a chair and the Board of Trustees I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening before I get to the book I do want to note first that the district review vote should have tallied to remove this book two of the deciding votes were to relocate this book outside of the district into a public library since that's not a viable option nor should have relocated been an option this vote should have been four to three to remove bathe the cat is only at Springdale Elementary this means the other media Specialists knew that this book doesn't align with the community's views of what's appropriate and inappropriate for ages three to six

025therefore today's appeal should be an easy decision for you we are fighting an ideology that is infiltrated powerful institutions with certain ideas that every person sitting at this table today knows is wrong but in the name of a twisted version of compassion many have caved to the few with power and have decided that inclusion really means anything goes therefore you must accept everything as normal there is no right and there is no wrong there is no good and there is no evil well history has proven time and time again that there is good and evil in this world and any society who removes morality from its midst will fall so please as you sit at this table tonight I implore you to really listen to what's Happening Here the books do need to be removed

026but they are just a symptom of a deeper problem our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the enemy who is seeking to steal kill and destroy our most precious of all Treasures children and that's why we're all here to stand in the Gap to protect the children from his cunning and crafty schemes bathe the cat is one of those books Illustrated with cunning and crafty schemes to plant seeds of confusion in the minds of our most vulnerable and to put parents in a precarious position one they should not be put in the obvious question is this why was this book selected by only one media specialist in the district the answer is this it was intentionally pushed purchased to push the sexualization of children ages three to six yes it's a silly

027story but there are tons of silly stories out there that don't sexualize children this purchase was to push the envelope the former Springdale media specialist was quoted as telling a child when she brought a particular book not this one back because it was inappropriate said well you better get used to it because this is the world we live in I'm sorry but that was not an appropriate response to a child we all know that literacy skills begin with teaching young children to find clues about the story in the pictures the illustrations portray a queer couple obviously men of color with three children in their home two black little boys and one white little girl two things immediately jump off the page two daddies cannot have children so that will raise questions as to how two

028daddies get children now I certainly have no problem with adoption because I'm adopted myself and I cherish that God designed piece of my story but little ones may be confused about why someone would give a child away this could lead a child to be fearful that they could be given away and why is the lgbtq paraphernalia plastered on every single page if there's not an agenda being pushed within the story the observant child will want to know what the different magnet Flags stand for stuck to the refrigerator and just so you know there's the lgbtq flag the genderqueer flag and the transgender flag the child who loves to draw may want to know about the artwork on the refrigerator that says My Two Dads a child who loves rainbows May notice that they are everywhere

029and guess what these Rainbows are not there to share the story of Noah's Ark let's say your kindergartner selects bathe the cat from the media center because of the colorful drawings or because they like cats and innocent action your son or daughter checks it out brings it home and when you open the book not only are you taken back but your child begins to ask questions you are not ready to approach with your young child or even worse let's say he checks it out but he doesn't show it to you instead he asked another adult or another older child at school or someone in after school daycare to read it to him and they discuss its contents without your knowledge or permission and then one day he asked what's transgender and you're horrified you ask

030him where he heard that term and he spills the beans well guess who's making a trip to the school yep you the parent but not before posting it all over social media about the incident and the incompetency of the school for allowing your child to access inappropriate material all because the school and the district signed off on the purchase order for the book and put it within the reach of your child's tiny hand the school stole your sacred responsibility to talk with your children about sensitive issues on your timeline without your permission this is how it all begins one book one child one seed of confusion planted in one mind this reimagining of sexual identities as being affirmed celebrated and paraded in front of children every day on every grade level we can't halt what

031children have access to outside of school but we sure as heck can diminish it while they are under the supervision of Lexington 2 employees trying to justify something as our teachers and Librarians have tried to do because a child has possibly seen it or has heard about it on social media and TV is ridiculous with that logic you're asking me to believe that if a child has been exposed to sex trafficking on a website or via social media that I should just open the door to anyone who wants to steal my child for sexual profit that's insane there's no reason to throw away boundaries just because minors have been exposed to immoral and dangerous experiences eight plus hours a day without danger or a moral influence is a school day parents could get behind I

032actually attended several School level book reviews before the rules of the game were changed without the any communication to the complainants by District administration I was appalled by their justifications for this book purpose silly really no purpose acceptance of material it's an Award nominee meet Lex 2 selections guidelines noted that the South Carolina Association of school libraries the librarian Dean the book non-political and questions nothing in the book said it demonstrates diversity and reflects the students and staff at Springdale I don't think anything could be further from the truth and she had no problems with the author or illustrator builds empathy and understanding committee members said it portrays a minority family which by the way my friends of color say they do not like themselves being used to Peddle the lgbtq agenda in books for

033any child also it was said that the book encourages inclusion regular people doing regular things do you know any family that bathes their cat before Grandma comes over then a Committee Member contradicts their previous justification by claiming a child will not notice the political Elements which they just said were not in the book even the teachers were drawn to look at what each flag represented the consensus of this very biased committee was that the book has literary value and one teacher even laughed yeah it's even more value than Dr Seuss really if this social agenda picture book is deemed by our Educators as having great literary value we are in much more danger of failure than our district report card already shows every professional resource touted by our Educators in that committee and others is

034biased and breaks the ijl policy did anyone ever think that the reason this book won an award is that the author did what her publisher wanted and created a book to fit the American Library association's extremist social justice agenda well don't be fooled by Award winners especially if written in the last decade and on into this one you cannot trust the professionals anymore those who dress up books with awards stickers and seals of approval are the same ones who want to dismantle morality and steal the minds of children you only have to leave the door cracked for the fox to enter the hen house the Fox pounces on the little ones first Lexington 2 is not only cracked the door but we've rolled out the red carpet for garbage literature the books that have been

035kuced so far are just the tip of the iceberg there are hundreds of books in our media on our media center shelves as presented also as e-books which by the way students have access to without their parents even knowing the majority of this community believes sexual will conversations are to be broached with parents not school Personnel introducing homosexuality transgenderism and other alphabet sexual identity is nonsense and it should not be discussed with children in an elementary setting at all including guidance counselors as of today in Lexington District 2 if your child asks a question about his or her biological sex the school is not required to speak of that conversation with the parent we also know that if that child claims to be of the opposite sex from his or her biological sex the child

036is permitted to use the restroom that they identify with this should scare parents to death and this is the lawsuit that the board should be afraid of if the rape of a Girl by a boy pretending to be a girl in a restroom on a Lexington Jew campus happens it's coming if you don't do something now to stop it before my time is up I would like to State for the record that this entire process of policies i j l a r k e c Dash R is unacceptable and is steeped in biased from the beginning I'm very glad to hear that we are suspending it and it will be addressed immediately I hope Lexington 2 learns a great deal from this absurd process and takes responsibility for its actions by replacing a broken policy

037with one that is unbiased balanced and inclusive of the True Values of the community they serve thank you for your attentiveness thank you Michelle and I'm going to ask all speakers tonight that we definitely refrain from and limit and refrain from any identifying factors about any certain individuals I understand making quotes of committee comments and things may be part of the presentation as long as we're not personally identifying anybody that I would ask that you abide by that um and with that I believe we have the district committee chairperson yes ma'am Dr bergraph doctor Madam chair Dr Hafner members of the board uh point of clarification from earlier there were seven votes cast at the district committee level three of those were to retain the book two were to remove the book one was to

038relocate it to the public library which counts as a removal so therefore there were three to retain three to remove one to relocate to the high school relocate at that time was a valid option on the ballot and is not counted towards retaining or removal and therefore there were not enough votes to change the status quo of the book being in the library at this time I will read through the committee's compiled responses that were put together by the district committee members after reading the book what is the overall purpose of this book and did it accomplish that purpose to normalize a two-dad family unit with humor and fun this is intended to be a humorous children's story about how a cat doesn't want to be bathed and as a result rearranges the chore list

039on the refrigerator in funny ways as the family tries to get the house ready for the grandmother's arrival the overall purpose of this book is to tell an entertaining story about a family who is cleaning in preparation of a visit from Grandma and a family is preparing for Grandma's visit by cleaning the house and dividing chores among members of the family General acceptance of the material through reviews and Consulting recommended lists or Awards most reviews love the quirky nature and subtlety of lgbtq positive reviews highlighting the humor in the story reviews speak to its appropriateness for young readers author Alice McGinty noted as a prolific author of books for children David Roberts well known for his work on New York Times best-selling questionnaires series it was awarded the Colorado library's for early literacy Bell picture

040book award in 2023 reviews included kirkus reviews School library Journal book list the bulletin of the center for children's books and the horn book ensure the material meets the Lexington School District 2 materials selection guidelines the following criteria from the board policy provides evidence that this book is not appropriate for Lex 2 libraries Clarity adequacy and scope of text confusing instructions for a young child to follow High degree of readability and or comprehensibility note that older students would understand the confusion and underlying mischievousness of the cat while younger students would miss it this book contains no blatant violations of any District guidelines did not play baseball colorful illustrations easy readability and rhyme inclusivity of family types and humor a high degree of readability colorful eye-catching expectations and values of many in our faith-based community and

041Lex 2 must be considered age level recommendation of this title and diversification of viewpoints represented here should be considered will reading or listening to this work result in a more compassionate understanding of human beings no it's just a simple book about an event but includes two dads only the stress that all families go through when cleaning for house guests students who have a similar family makeup will relate the children this children's story is about a family getting ready for a visit from Grandma and the many chores that need to be done leading up to her arrival the family consists of three young children and their Two Dads I feel as if this book shows that all families regardless of their makeup are all of the same to some extent and this will enable the reader

042to have compassion towards families that may look different on the outside does this work offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups no no that was not the intent of the book I think this book shows a normal family problem of cleaning your house for company this story is adorable and I can relate to it as a mom and wife on so many levels it gave me a better appreciation for families that may have same gender appearance and the fact that they are moms and dads and husbands and wives just like the rest of us and deal with the hustle and bustle of life just like parents and heterosexual relationships do our questionable elements of this work an important part of the overall

043development of the story or text no no the main questionable elements are the book having two dads which though present in the illustration is not an important part of the story and the Magnetic flags on the refrigerator which again though present take a back seat to the arrangement of the letter magnets on the refrigerator I don't think this book has severe questionable elements the family has two dads but I don't think this book makes that the main focus the story is written with Rhymes that entertain the reader as the cat changes the list to avoid a bath students who have had to clean will be able to relate the only questionable element that some may find problematic would be that there are two dads instead of a mom and a dad in this story I

044personally find nothing wrong with this since both myself and my young son have friends who have same gender parents and I also have taught several students with this same family Dynamic this is part of the world we live in Love Is Love and a family should be made up of parents who love each other and their children and this book portrays lit happiness within a home comes in all forms a quote by Mr Rogers children need adults who are convinced of the value of childhood they need adults who will protect them from the ever-ready molders of their world at first glance this appears to be a sweet story about a family getting ready for Grandma's visit it's colorful eye-catching and engaging however upon closer inspection this book seems to have an ulterior motive this book

045is recommended for young children ages 3 and up the school level committee met for further discussion and in their notes claimed that children and adults will not notice the flags represented on the fridge young children will absolutely notice this as the magnets on the fridge are continuously moved around and this will be the first thing a young child's eye will see young children ask questions and they tend to ask quite a few the LBG lgbtq plus transgender and agender not identifying as any one gender flags are represented on the fridge where the magnet letters are and are clearly visible on at least three pages there are other titles where many families are represented but not in a dominating and intrusive manner like bathe the cat many parents want the prerogative and opportunity to speak to

046their children about the lifestyle represented here first however in a school setting students visit the Library without appearance guidance I don't know of many parents who feel it would be appropriate to have a conversation to try and explain the agender identity at the age of three to six yet this title is recommended for that age group this title could be very confusing for many young children according to the lex2 material selection criteria the diversification of viewpoints would not be appropriate for this age group the focus of our educational system should not be lgbtq or gender ideology I believe this is why so many are choosing to homeschool their children or choosing private or charter school programs this book could be available at the request of a parent this book is also freely available at the

047Lexington and Richland library where a parent can provide guidance and direction that ends the comments from the district committee thank you Dr Borg Graf I'll entertain a motion at this time motion to uphold the books committee decision to retain the book bathe the cat by Alice mcginny I have a motion by Miss Kessler to have a second second by Miss castles board members any discussions before we vote again I want to remind everyone that an I vote would be a yes vote to retain and a no vote would be a vote not to retain and the majority will determine whether the book is retained or not all those in favor of the motion to retain the book signify by saying aye aye aye opposed no um let's let's do a little show of hands because

048I I can't follow it's all those um to retain signify by saying I with your hand up and those signify who vote to remove signify by raising your hand saying no so the vote's five to two um thank you hard work of the committee the chairperson and also Ms Shaw next we'll move along to uh Ms Shull returning to you again for our second book which is the passing Playbook we'll welcome you back to the stance podium thank you again I don't think I've written so many speeches in such a short amount of time that this has been incredible um so thank you again Dr Hafner and the board chair and the Board of Trustees when it comes to gender and gender constructs there's no better place to start to learn about it than with

049the Dr John money Dr John money is a prominent psychologist and sexologist money was one of the early pioneers of the gender theories that are currently taught in grade schools and universities among the first to take the word gender out of the realm of grammar and apply it to people he coined the terms gender role and gender identity and sexual orientation a professor at York University recently published a book labeling John money the man who invented gender suffice it to say he was an extremely influential man and anyone who propagates left-wing gender Theory today is parroting at least some of the ideas of John money whether they know it or not the fact ought to trouble gender Theory proponents because John money was among others a fraud and an abuser along with more conventionally degenerate

050views this advocacy of open marriages and group sex for example money was also as a not very critical article by the salon.com puts it and build ambivalently supportive of pedophilia drawing a distinction between what he called sadistic pedophilia and affectionate pedophilia money held that a relationship between a grown man and a child who really love each other should not be considered disordered speaking to a Dutch pro-pedophilia publication money explained if I were to see the case of a boy aged 10 to 12 who's intensely attracted toward a man in his 20s or 30s if the relationship is totally mutual and the bonding is genuinely totally Mutual then I would not call it pathological in any way his tolerance for child rate may help explain some of the events that transpire later in the story jumping

051ahead now down to 1965 and the birth of twins Bruce and Brian Reimer the boys were born healthy except for a condition called famosis which affects the foreskin it was decided incorrectly that the best way to treat the condition was circumcision but Bruce's procedure went horribly wrong with his prophets was essentially burned off after several months of grasping for answers Bruce's parents eventually decided to take him to John Hopkins in Baltimore to see the renowned Dr John money the good doctor eager to prove the legitimacy of his theory that gender is a product of environment and culture recommended that Bruce undergoes sex reassignment surgery before the boy turned two the deed had been done he um his private parts were removed some crude approximation of female parts were formed and money instructed the parents to

052raise him as a girl from that day forward and to never tell him about his real identity the Reimer parents tried to follow Bunny's advice but they found that Bruce was still Bruce even if they called him Brenda and did everything in their power to preserve his fragile and false female identity gender is a construct they were told why should a boy raise as a girl still have boyish Tendencies but his boyishness came through in spite of money's theories the boys also attended regular therapy sessions with money for therapy money sometimes instructed the boys to disrobe and inspect each other sometimes they were made to simulate sex acts on each other money explained that this was meant to be healthy sexual exploration on at least one occasion nude photographs of the boys were taken ultimately

053money was convinced that this project had been a smashing success and he bragged about his triumphs and many published works but it was not the female identity never took hold he was confused miserable and on the verge of suicide until as a teen his mother finally told him the truth Bruce chose immediately to transition back to a boy taking the name of David he underwent other another another reassignment surgery this time to try and reclaim his true self he felt better for a time but neither he nor his brother ever lived happily ever after their experiences John money's Lab Rats and playthings had damaged them both irrevocably David would go on to speak out against money at first anonymously and then publicly eventually he even got married but all was not well the first twin

054whose life ended tragically was Brian in 2002 at the age of 36 the brother who used who was used as a in the control group took an overdose of antidepressants two years later David drove to a grocery store parking lot with a sawed-off shotgun and shot himself in the head their deaths will go down in history as suicides but in my opinion the or the opinion of this article they were both effectively murdered by John money the father of modern gender Theory this is no surprise as David Raymond's parents discovered you cannot reassign someone's genetically and biologically hardwired sex you can dress them in different clothes and conduct irreversible surgeries but none of that can change their DNA you can alter a person's looks you can alter their biological nature but you cannot alter their

055biological nature John money's experiment failed the experiment that our society has been carrying out on children ever since has also failed in its infancy gender Theory wrought only confusion Despair and death notice anything that resembles the made-up story of the passing Playbook Spencer who is really a girl cannot ignore her biological DNA in the story she's not queer she's naturally attracted to boys because she's always been a girl and always will be Amazon's description of the passing Playbook is extremely misleading it reads fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd an awesome big brother and a David Beckham in training he's also transgender after transitioning at his old school leads to a year of isolation and bullying Spencer who's a girl gets a fresh start at Oakley the most liberal private school in Ohio at Oakley

056Spencer seems to have it all more accepting classmates a decent shot at starting a position on a boys soccer team great new friends maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates the problem is no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans he's passing but when a discriminatory law forces Spencer's coach to bench him Spencer has to make a choice cheer his team on for this from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play booklets.org summary which is unbiased tells it like this a 15 year old girl transfers to another school after beginning hormone treatment therapy and begins dating a homosexual male notice anything different in the two descriptions which review is telling the truth Amazon's review is biased and misleading by referring to her as he Spencer Harris and a

057bootlook's description is Honest by telling the reader that the girl character is transitioning to a male while she begins dating a male thus the title The Passing Playbook my first question was this if this girl already has a natural attraction to boys why is she transitioning to become a male is it just so she can say that she's not only trans but labeled queer too she doesn't have to play on a boys soccer team to be able to play the sport so of course there's an agenda attached to the story the author Isaac Fitzsimons is reliving his mental delusion and sucking vulnerable children into his mentally Disturbed World in an interview with Fitzsimons an interviewer says the passing Playbook is coming at a time when there's a wave of anti-transports and Health Care bills targeting

058youth throughout the nation and the issue plays out in the book in a similar way but Simon's responds I couldn't have imagined that we'd be in the position that we are in now I thought things would have improved at this point I started writing the book in 2016. when I was doing research I looked into transgender kids and people who transition as children because I transitioned in my early 20s I found Jazz Jennings and her case with being excluded from soccer as a kid and so her case inspired my storyline she which the author claims he's a he even it's amazing they even admires Jazz Jennings a biological male who is so severely physically damaged and mentally depressed because his mother transitioned him at the age of five to even admire her story is sick

059this author toys with the minds of children and their minds are not his or ours to toy with the passing Playbook also paints anyone with sound moral convictions as archaic stupid homophobic and transphobic nothing could be further from the truth I have members of my own family who are in sexually unnatural relationships I love them dearly and they know it but they also know I will never celebrate or affirm their immoral sexual behavior one of the many samples of the natural unnatural sexual activities in this book is when Spencer who is really a girl thinks she's experiencing homosexual desires though she's making out with a guy Justice Spencer's boyfriend rested with his back against the wall Spencer tucked between his legs he trailed kisses down Spencer's neck and nuzzled his nose against Spencer's cheek Spencer

060turned his head and let Justice kiss him it was gentle at first then Justice brushed his tongue over Spencer's bottom lip Spencer twisted around so he was kneeling and covered Justice's lips with his Justice buried his fingers in Spencer's hair then he slid his hands under Spencer's shirt Spencer opened his mouth to deepen the kiss but Justice moved his head and Spencer ended up making out with his ear and it continues on transgenderism is a scam being forced on our society by a very loud violent less than one percent of the population there will always and forever will be only two biological Sexes and no matter how hard people try to recreate what's already been perfectly created they will never succeed just a few weeks ago on Capitol Hill a gender reassignment surgeon testified that

061gender reassignment surgery is a 100 percent failure every single time because no one can change their biological sex or DNA but in the meantime those who we should be able to trust with our children and future Generations continue to perpetuate mental physical and emotional damage all in the name of social emotional and mental Wellness the entire premise of the passing Playbook is ludicrous promotes confusion and contributes nothing to the literary skills of the student who reads it this is not appropriate for a school library school is not for grooming children for unnatural sexual activity enticing them to reimagine their biological sex and seeking to turn children against parents who exhibit a moral compass but from the looks of things around here we are scoring an F in academics and an A in the mental abuse

062of children societies Through the Ages have collapsed and disappeared because they ignored moral Integrity do you want your child to have access to books that perpetuate mental delusions especially if being enticed to read them through bribery tactics by School Employees the freedom to read is all the library associations have to fight back because they know minors aren't allowed the same freedoms as adults but they continue to promote this ludicrous argument anyway we're talking about school libraries children minors just as you would at hand a child a butcher knife to play with why hand children material that can harm their minds for life even cause them mental anguish which can lead them to commit suicide children need to be protected with sound boundaries as much as possible from mentally destructive reading material and curriculum especially during

063the formidable years while their mind's ability to reason and process is still developing this community of Lexington 2 the ones who entrusted you when they voted for you they take the protection of the minds of minors very seriously and they expect you to hold any and everyone who works in this District accountable when that ceases to occur this book appeal is proof that many need to be held accountable for allowing these books to enter our doors this evening each one of you the Board of Trustees have a unique opportunity to prove that you truly care about the children in this District remove this book from minor access in Lexington too thank you thank you Michelle and now on behalf of the district the district committee for this book was uh Mrs Cribbs committee chair please

064thank you Mr Scripps so good evening Madam chair members of the board Dr Hafner I'm going to do the same thing that Dr burgraff did with reading the prompt and then sharing all the comments from all of the committee members okay so what is the overall purpose of this book did it accomplish that purpose illustrate insecurities struggles and other issues lgbtq youth experience promotes that empathy can change people's views and policies without forcing personal beliefs to change yes this book accomplished its purpose to share the story of a transgender high school student in sports and the challenges faced by those with gender dysphoria the purpose of this book was to tell the story of a transgender adolescent who is struggling with his identity the main character moves to a new school and initially keeps his

065gender a secret but then has to make a decision whether to share his secret or publicly stand up for his right to play soccer the book does share a story that some adolescents May identify with in schools acceptance by their peers teachers coaches and parents yes in a way that is comprehendable I believe the purpose is to expose children to the idea of transgender the purpose of this book was to document the real life and struggles of a transgender boy who was looking for a way to find his identity and be included in his high school yes it accomplished this purpose the overall purpose of the passing Playbook is to shed light on the struggles that young transgender specifically athletes experience on a daily basis yes the book did accomplish this regarding General acceptance of

066the material by reading reviews and Consulting recommended lists and awards reviews note the wide array of social themes explored in the book racism identity accessibility and privilege It is Well reviewed by editors recommendations are from authors of the same genre so I don't give them much validity Junior Library Guild gold standard selection a summer fall 2021 Indies introduced title A kirkus best young adult book of 2021 and a 2022 Lambda literary award finalist 4.15 out of 5 on Goodreads with over 7 000 reviews most being four and five stars common words in the reviews were emotional and helpful reviews from from credible sources such as school library Journal book list and kirkus highlight this book as suitable for grades 8 through 12. the reviews found the story to be important and necessary for young adults

067due to the content Common Sense Media four out of five general reviews are equal well-liked book the overall acceptance of the passing playbook in regards to reviews is widely accepted as beneficial to its targeted audience um ensure the material meets the Lexington School District 2 materials selection guidelines it is intended for youths Grade 9 and above freedom to learn and read board policy IJ is referring to instructional materials used in the classroom from my knowledge this book is not required reading for any course but is available in school libraries it is intended for a high school audience but is not a required read board policy ijl refers to materials in the school library this book does address the topic of gender identification that can be a source of debate in our society I would suggest

068that students who read this book be at least at the high school level and the reader's parents and Guardians be made aware of the subject matter being discussed this is not required reading it is simply accessible to students who need it in the library this item is not used for instructional purposes but it does adhere to the South Carolina College and Career Readiness standards for English Standard 12 States read independently and comprehend a variety of texts for purposes of reading for enjoyment acquiring new learning and building stamina reflect on and respond to increasingly complex text over time the novel supports ijl by being a resource that clearly states that it is an opinion and not meant for all readers the passing Playbook meets the district guidelines um next weigh the value and faults of the

069material against each other and form opinions based on the material as a whole will reading or listening to this book to this work result in a more compassionate understanding of human beings two committee members said yes and then other comments I think the book does discuss a topic that some adolescents may be dealing with in their lives I'm concerned with the younger impressionable students reading this material because there are sexual situations and scenarios yes the book covers current event topics high school students are not oblivious to I don't think it does reading this book will give you a better understanding of this new and ever-evolving transgender Society 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

070puts the reader in the mind of a student who is battling internal battles the mental welfare of students is Paramount so it does bring to light the thinking of some young people who are dealing with issues of gender identity two people said yes one said I don't think so then yes problems faced by trans athletes and yes this book opens up a story of a young transgender athlete and the struggles they experience on a daily basis are questionable elements of this work an important part of the overall development of the story or text I do not think so yes yes there are questionable elements to the passing Playbook as a parent I feel this book should not be accessible to students at a public school this book has many elements and situations that a child

071should be discussing with their parents rather than learning or accepting the ideology pushed on the targeted youth audience this book should be available to check out at our local public libraries but not in the school setting I believe it is our jobs as adults and adults who are entrusted with the children of other people to protect children from adult things the topics in this book were adult topics there are no questionable elements the questionable elements of this work are at the center of the overall development of the story while I think social acceptance is the bigger issue gender identification is at the heart of this particular story the experiences outlined by the author will give readers a glimpse into the lgbtq experience the main character's life helps readers learn the intricacies of transitioning in a

072lighthearted way the novel offers several looks into the lives and issues of the lgbtq community and a glimpse into the life of African-American lgbtq experience I don't think there are questionable elements so finally the majority opinion of the district committee is to retain the passing Playbook at the high school level thank you Ms Cribbs I'll entertain a motion motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain the book The Passing Playbook by S Isaac Fitzsimmons motion by Miss Kessler second second second by Miss castles board members any questions or discussion yes ma'am yes Mr Brown do we have the school vote in the district vote on that one Dr Brooks If you get there faster than I do let me know that airport do I she's looking it up I'm looking at the spreadsheet ask

073for your patience it's an important question um School result was to retain do you know what the vote was Dr Brooks do you have that specific vote it wasn't in the the appeal school committee voted to retain as well as the district committee exact vote on the school committee I'm not sure the district committee was the five to three three five three and then for the looking at the notification to the to Michelle it says retained in all licensed into licensing school district two classrooms therefore this if I vote I here then I am saying that we can put this book into Middle School is that wrong it was only a high school book the vote was for high school only in the letter July 27th third paragraph second sentence committee members reached the majority

074opinion the book should be retained in all Lexington School District 2 classroom and Library collections meaning where it already was not to add to anywhere yes to this there's this book could be added right to a middle school or no I would say Mr Bray if you would like you can amend the motion to be more specific we can make a motion to amend the motion to retain to specify whatever you want to specify can you restate the motion sit motion to retain uh motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain the book The Passing Playbook by us fitzsimmon I don't know how I'd make him at the high school level so you can make an emotion to make a motion to amend the motion to add language that it would be only retained

075at the high school level or whatever you would like for your motion to be I'm gonna hold on it thank you board members any further discussion at the high school level right but if you want to be specific all right I want to amend the notion that the book only be retained at the high school level okay I have a motion that the book a motion to amend the underlying motion that would change change it to be only retained at the high school level do I have a second for that most for the amendment second by Miss Kessler any discussion on that okay now what we're going to vote on is the amendment only so that doesn't mean that you're voting on the underlying motion it's just that you're voting on whether or not to

076vote on the amendment that it would be only at the high school level so all those in favor of the amendment which would mean yes only at the high school level um signify by raising your hand and that's and any uh who vote no as to the amendment so that's six one and the amendment passes so now the underlying motion that we are now voting on would read um retain motion to retain the book The Passing playbook for senior for high school only so now that is the motion that we will retain it for high school only so as to that all those in favor of the motion as amended signify by raising your hand I all those opposed signify by raising your hand no okay that's four to three and then motion means we'll

077be retained at the high school level only next um Miss Shaw I believe we have you speaking to groan next the book groan is not for minors it is one of the slew of books of this nature in our high school media centers books that should not be accessible to minors in a school library it floors me to know that adults in Lexington 2 whether consciously or unconsciously are exploiting our children's Minds so radical extremists can increase their profit and Power any child who reads this will be traumatized in some form or another if a child has been sexually abused in any way this type of book will cause them to relive their pain over and over again if a child is not praise God been sexually assaulted physically or emotionally abused this book will

078provide the traumatic experiences they should have been spared these books also introduce minors to subjects their brains are not mentally or emotionally equipped to handle yet adults have trouble reading this stuff so why would a child with with an underdeveloped brain be able to handle it several reviews by adult readers on Amazon said this book was so disturbing and nauseating that they had to put it down several times before they could even finish it I remember trying to read a particular book when I was in my early 30s 18 years after I had been molested in Middle School by a trusted friend of our families and I couldn't read it it upset me so terribly I've never picked that book up again and it was a positive book it wasn't until years later when I

079came to understand what true forgiveness is all about that I could read books on the topic of sexual abuse and only then if they offered the hope and forgiveness of Jesus Christ media Specialists across this nation state and District have brought into the have bought into the Twisted mindset that kids need to see themselves reflected in the literature they read well the educational indoctrination has backfired because what's being claimed as a reflection of real life in most cases is not real life and on the occasion that it is it's causing those who've experienced abuse to relive that abuse foreign the unbiased booklooks.org gives a summary of concerns about the book grown which says this book contains sexual activities including sexual assault sexual nudity profanity and derogatory terms violence alcohol and drug use and abuse references

080to racism it also knows at the bottom of the cover page a Content warning that states you are about to access material that may contain content of an adult nature these files may include pictures and materials that some viewers may find offensive if you are under the age of 18 or if such material offends you or if it is illegal for you to view these materials please exit now the PDF also gives grown a minor restriction label but remember this is adult material so whatever the Restriction does not mean that it's for it means that it is not for anyone under the age of 18. District 2 has placed a high priority on our campuses to be safe spaces then why on Earth are we asking miners to enter unsafe spaces inside the covers of

081books we provide on our shelves in our classrooms and online these types of books offer nothing but trauma depression and anxiety seems like concerned Educators would want to provide boundaries boundaries help create safe environments for children not the lack of I would like to describe one example of how our minors have been enticed to read adult material filled with dangerous and extremely dark content first you must understand that the adult books are not simply placed in our media centers by happenstance or put on obscure shelves these books are being intentionally celebrated pushed and promoted on school social media accounts on bulletin boards and by offering prizes for reading them books that end up on award lists these days should be vetted even more thoroughly than those not given Awards most Award books we're bringing to

082you have a disruptive destructive and damaging societal agenda second the American Library Association has deemed a week in September and one in July as banned books week side note nobody has ever said any of these books should be banned or censored they are simply not appropriate for minors inside of school libraries the ala has an extreme hold over Librarians across our nation they are concerned with public libraries and books being censored in that Arena but they have morphed their fight against censorship directed at public libraries with public school libraries to stir up anger over a false pretense this devious stunt undermines the efforts of what we all should be doing as Champions for Children protecting the minds of children innocence is actually a good thing this past September a particular School used a clever tactic

083to entice minors to read these so-called banned books the tease was go on a blind date with a Banned Book here's how it worked a specific bookshelf displaying hot books if that alone doesn't tell you they'd already know exactly what they're doing the display was decorated with red and yellow tissue paper representing flames of fire on the shelves were two signs sign number one said this is why we're hot sign number two said set censorship on fire check out a Banned Book for the reason it was banned the banned books appear to be wrapped in thick butcher paper displaying a fire image as the students peruse the shells they were blind to the covers of the books taped to the front of the wrapping was the description of why that particular book was banned this

084book contains transgender characters transects lgbtq plus this book contains nudity hate racism sexual activities or this book contains pornography and this one shows how to transition with chest binding puberty blockers and sex-altering surgeries I don't know many 14 to 17 year olds that would not be easily enticed with tactics of this nature those with immature curiosity and a lack of self-control will fall for this Twisted Ploy and select a book inside the wrapper especially if the book is labeled band it's like putting candy on a plate for a three-year-old and telling them not to touch it and then you walk out of the room what do you think is going to happen why is Lux 2 allowing tactics like these because without a doubt there is a political and social agenda at play in our

085district if the students wanted to read what's in the library they wouldn't have to be bribed to do it again the powers that be are obsessed with a twisted educational philosophy they want to saturate our students Minds with mentally destructive material by claiming that material like this students that this helps students with their mental health issues they will and they will attempt to silence anyone who attempts to get in their way this is the reason so many kec forms have been and will continue to be submitted by parents and concerned citizens of this District that educational philosophy does not align with our district Community Values our children's minds are not to be toyed with especially while they are on school property and that includes the use of Chromebooks as well adults who provide pornographic material

086to minors and South Carolina are breaking the law that adult would be arrested and taken away in handcuffs it's only a matter of time before we start seeing this occur in Lexington too if drastic changes are not made now as far as the book grown goes all seven of you received a notebook filled with PDFs from bookbooks.org back in April exposing the overwhelming volume of pornographic and other objectionable material not only in this book but in tons of others like it if this warning had been addressed on the front end we wouldn't be here tonight bogged down in this laborious kec process and we certainly would not be appealing poor decisions by our faculty and staff before you the Board of Trustees but because we are here it proves our fair warning of what has

087entered this District was ignored therefore we are following your policy and these decisions sit squarely on your shoulders your votes tonight will exposed to your constituents where you really stand when it comes to protecting the hearts and minds of children I pray you're on the right side the side of the children thank you for the opportunity to appeal thank you Miss Shull and our district chairperson is Scripts good evening again [Music] um so what is the overall purpose of this book did it accomplish that purpose the purpose of this novel as expressed by the author is to expose and give voice to the young women who are victims of abuse but are painted in a different light yes the novel did accomplish this purpose bringing awareness to the vulnerability of black young women to predatory

088men how black victims are often blamed or overlooked the book also showed the power of friendship and family yes the author accomplished her purpose the book brings awareness to the vulnerability of young women when it comes to grooming and abuse the warning signs as well as the significant impact an abuser can have on one's life the purpose of the book was to tell the story of a young woman trying to make it in the entertainment industry she becomes involved with a famous singer who takes advantage of her and isolates her from her family and friends the purpose of the book is to tell her story and the victimization she goes through although the book does share a traumatic story it does little to offer Solutions groan is an emotional story about privilege racism and grooming

089yes to make readers aware of the sexual exploitation of young women and the dangers of social media the overall purpose of grown is to provide a fictional novel that reflects the life of a young African-American girl finding her Womanhood through trials and tribulations yes the book did accomplish this regarding General acceptance of the material by reading reviews and Consulting recommended lists and awards the novel has an overwhelmingly positive response from many credible review sources the school library Journal Review and the book list review have deemed this novel appropriate for grades 8 through 12. book list editors Choice books for youth 2020 best fiction for young adults 2021 review of The Day 2020 General acceptance for grades nine and old grades nine and up by school library Journal Goodreads 4.2 out of 5 Common Sense Media

0903 out of five the book has an overwhelming positive response through reviews the overall acceptance of grown per reviews is positive ensuring the material meets the Lexington School District 2 material selection guidelines this is not a required reading for students and is carried only at the high school level which is appropriate for the content this item is not used for instructional purposes but it does adhere to the South Carolina College and Career Readiness standards for English Standard 12 which states read independently and comprehend a variety of texts for purposes of reading for enjoyment acquiring new learning and building stamina reflect on and respond to increasingly complex text over time intended for a high school audience but is not a required read the novel supports ijl by being a resource that clearly states that it is

091an opinion and not meant for all readers 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 does address the topics of rape drugs alcohol and manipulation it is a difficult read and not appropriate for minors in my opinion available in high school libraries only supports the principles of the freedom to learn and read freedom of inquiry is vital to education in a democracy grown meets the district guidelines weighing the value and faults of the material against each other and forming opinions based on the material as a whole will reading or listening to this work result in a more compassionate understanding of human

092beings I think this book does involve sexual content and its descriptions may not be appropriate for students I'm concerned with the younger impressionable students reading this material because there are sexual situations and scenarios yes as well as help young girls understand their own vulnerability especially in regards to social media and predatory adults yes it shows that the results of abuse cutting family off is not a fault of the victim yes I think so reading this book will give you a better understanding of how young black women are treated in our society and how drugs sexual activity and alcohol mix into growing up in today's world does this work offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups yes most importantly it illustrates the ugly

093side and even dangers of celebrity social media isolation Etc yes this book is written and is about young African-American women the book involves a teen being placed in a dangerous situation and the adults who take advantage of her I do not believe it addresses achievements of any groups or problems faced by cultures or minority groups although it may give young women who have been similarly victimized a voice to share their experiences yes it showed me how easily someone could become a victim yes this book shares real life experiences of a young black girl finding herself and growing up in an entertainment industry world as she struggles to go along with it our questionable elements of this work an important part of the overall development of the story or text two people two people simply said

094yes while the novel does cover mature situations readers could not fully comprehend the severity of the purpose without the content the author wants readers to understand the cultural and societal issues that young black girls have to endure in order to receive Justice and understanding when being victimized the title itself is a reflection of the negative connotation young black girls have to overcome because they are commonly perceived as adults or grown even when they are mere children this story is necessary and critical for young readers yes they show what one is willing to do to help one's family even if it means falling into cycles of physical and sexual abuse the questionable elements of this work are the vivid sexual descriptions and violence towards women they are at the heart of the story I don't think

095there are questionable elements no while grown does have some adult scenarios there are not questionable elements this book should be able to be checked out from the school's library so the majority opinion of the district committee is to retain grown at the high school level okay I'll entertain a motion motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain the book grown by Tiffany Jackson at the high school level second I have a motion by Miss Kessler and a second by Miss castles board members any questions or discussion Mr Brown Madam chair thank you uh I just want it to be noted that if I said the f word out loud as many times as this book said it that I would probably be censored if any of our students were the quotes of this book

096on their shirt then policy jica we would have to make sure that we pull them out if they were to Google and then copy the words from this book on their issued Chromebook they would then be in conflict with policy AJ in DB and if a teacher was to read this book out loud then he or she would be in conflict with policy GBE so f word 23 times a word 17 times the s word 32 times uh if we're following Pico standard pervasive vulgarity is without a doubt evident thank you okay board members any other questions or discussion okay um being none then um all those in favor of retaining grown um Can signify by saying I and raise your hand for I all those who vote to not retain it signify raise your

097hand by saying that okay and we'll move on I believe we have um seven to removing us um so I believe we have Miss Hendricks who is available to speak to us next welcome to the stand Mrs Hendricks good evening my name is Whitney Hendricks I am a third generation Lexington 2 graduate and my three children were enrolled in Lexington 2 until this school year tonight we're here to appeal five of The Challenge books that were retained by the school and District level committees and you may be thinking the district has spoken and provided a verdict on these materials already as a board it's our job to uphold standards and values of the district community and to that I would encourage you to have an open mind today as you hear these appeals because the

098verdict that was given on these five books was that of a select group of Educators and not your constituency or the community that you represent my daughter just turned 13. she is not an athlete but she will proudly tell you that her favorite sport is reading she devours books as a seventh grader at former last year she would average a visit to the school library twice a week she did not get her love of reading from me but I do admire it over the summer she would average three to five novels per week I do my best to keep up with what she's reading as an evolved parent but it's hard because she goes through books so fast we talk often about the book she's chosen the plot lines the character struggles and the genres

099that she's enjoying most of the time but it's impossible to get into the weeds of the content because she's doing the reading not me we discussed the big picture points but the nitty-gritty details are often lost in the recap for parents like me having a trusted source for endorsing and recommending books is invaluable our school libraries should be that trusted source if we cannot trust the Integrity of our libraries how does it affect our ability to trust the institution itself when it comes to materials offered by our schools and staff we must be able to trust that they are vetted School libraries should be a reliable collection of materials that families can have confidence in confidence that they are objective not controversial or provocative these collections should be edifying enriching challenging and most importantly they

100should support the educational goals and values of the schools when a book makes its way to a Review Committee for reasons of inappropriate content obscenity should be a major concern the basic definition of obscene is offensive by standards of decency and morality we aren't talking about offensive to conservatives or Christians or other minority groups we are talking about offensive to long-held standards of propriety and furthermore in this context we are talking about access by minors I find it interesting that reading the content of many of these books aloud would be impermissible per FCC standards on television or radio or even the guidelines we're given when we speak at board meetings but for some reason there is a disconnect when it comes to offering them to minors in public school without parental consent I took the

101liberty to review the list of questions committee members were given and evaluating these books and I take issue with them on a foundational level committee members are first asked if the book in question fulfills its author's purpose frankly this is a waste of ink then members are asked to assess the book's value by looking at reviews most of which are peer reviews given by education associations Publishers and other institutional organizations these are not objective reviews in most cases next the committee is to evaluate the book's worth in the Lexington 2 collection by looking at appropriateness of language its Financial value diversity of viewpoints organization artistic quality and the reputation of the author lastly the committee is to determine whether or not the book encourages quote a more compassionate understanding of human beings or offers an

102opportunity to better appreciate different cultures and or minority groups these are not bad considerations however the focus of these committees should be on the educational merits of a book I believe we are missing the Mark if that is not our primary motivation perhaps a better set of questions would be is the material intellectually stimulating does it reinforce classroom Concepts does it challenge students to grow academically and does it stay within the bounds of moral and decent standards schools exist to educate and prepare students for Higher Learning or to be productive members of society anything that does not contribute to those goals is a distraction and frankly we're in no position to entertain any distractions it is time to realign our Resources with our mission let's start here and the book that I we are discussing

103is the hate you give the district level we're doing tilt I apologize even better I've got that one right here okay so tilt is currently available to all of our high school students in Lexington too shocked that this book was retained by the district level committee it perfectly illustrates the Prejudice nature of these committees the librarian that houses the book uh and for all we know submitted the purchase order for it served on its Review Committee when you visit the third party nonpartisan website booklooks.org's report for this particular book you'll find a warning label that states you are about to access content of an adult nature these files may contain pictures and materials that some viewers find offensive if you are under the age of 18 or if such material offends you or if it

104is illegal for you to view these materials please exit now as a reminder high school students range in age from 14 to 18 years old this is gratuitous pornography period because it would violate the parameters given for this forum out of respect for myself you and others in this room I will not be reading any excerpts from this book allowed today there are 78 profane words within the text the b word is used 12 times the f word 26 and the s-word 23. in addition to this objectively offensive language readers are exposed to themes of sexual violence underage drinking drug use sexting fellatio pornography rape and abortion students are welcome to read it all and absorb it through a book purchased with our tax dollars I hope that you actually read this book I hope

105that you were just as shocked as the sole parent that served on the Review Committee that read it it is imperative that we take the time to know and understand what our students have access to on our campuses every day you and I both know that this book has no place in our schools it never should have been there frankly it's maddening that we had to go through this process to discuss a book that at best is harmful and at worst is is legal this is why we must see change in policy that will restrict inappropriate content from our school libraries and classrooms annual audits are imperative to the success of such a policy I trust that you'll do the right thing and remove it from Lexington too thank you Miss Hendricks and now the

106district committee chairperson who I believe was Miss cripp again sorry again miss Chris thank you again thank you good evening again so for tilt what is the overall purpose of this book did it accomplish that purpose the purpose of this book was to follow up on stories from a companion novel written by the author in the author's note she explained that she hopes readers are reminded of the seriousness of the issues discussed in the novel and shared statistics of the realities of these issues in America covers a ton of hot button topics teen HIV pregnancy euthanasia abortion casual sex drug use and drinking adoption and a search for a birth parent plus both teen and adult infidelity I'm not sure what the purpose was it was just sad yes the purpose of the book is

107accomplished to share the stories and immensely difficult decisions of vulnerable and minority group students to share the stories of teenagers and their vulnerability influences and social pressures the purpose of the book was to tell the story of three adolescents who are dealing with some tough issues one teen gets pregnant and deals with this life-changing situation another teen finds out his same-sex boyfriend has HIV and has struggle to cope with this especially in light of his sister's death the third teen is struggling to find love and makes personal changes and her story involves drugs alcohol and sexual assault the story shared in this book are hard-hitting and the reading is tough the stories could possibly be one that some other adolescents could relate to but the material is graphic at points the overall purpose of tilt

108is to share the experiences of young teens dealing with growing up and finding their place in today's world regarding General acceptance of the material by reading reviews and Consulting recommended lists and Awards this book has several notable reviews from sources such as book list and school library journal the reviews highlight the topics discussed and discuss the impact such a novel which is written in verse could have on helping young people make good decisions across all the reviews the ages of readers vary from 12 to 18 grades 7 to 12. book list and school library Journal reviews state grade 10 to 12. Hopkins latest novel inverse focuses on the Advent adverse circumstances of the lives of three teens Michaela Shane and Harley much of their misery is vested in their dysfunctional families which will be familiar

109to readers of Hopkins recent adult novel triangles to which this is a y a companion the characters lives are described in graphic bitingly honest and voluminous verse that is from the school library Journal it is an ala Quick Picks for reluctant young adult readers and Ila young adults Choice Award Joan F K well book award honoree msta reading Circle list a-l-a-y-a-l-s-a teens top 10 nominee common words found in the reviews were profound and important a nominee for the best why a fiction in 2012 Goodreads was 4.26 out of 5. Common Sense Media was three out of five overall reviews average four of five the overall acceptance of tilt Pro reviews is mixed both positive and negative ensuring the material meets the Lexington School District 2 material selection guidelines this item is not used for instructional

110purposes but it does adhere to the South Carolina College and Career Readiness standards for English Standard 12 which reads read independently and comprehend a variety of texts for purposes of reading for enjoyment acquiring new learning and building stamina reflect on and respond to increasingly complex text over time the novel supports ijl by being a resource that clearly states that it is an opinion and not meant for all readers 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 does address the topics of rape drugs alcohol HIV suicide death of a family member and drinking and driving it is a difficult read and not

111appropriate for minors in my opinion it is available in high school libraries only supports the principles of freedom to learn and read freedom of inquiry is vital to education in a democracy this is not a required reading it is intended for a high school audience but is not a required read it is accessible in the library and there is currently one copy in the district tilt meets board policy guidelines so weighing the value and faults of the material against each other and forming opinions based on the material as a whole will reading or listening to this work result in a more compassionate understanding of human beings two people said yes one person said no other comments were yes teen pregnancy lgbtq plus tough family Dynamics chronic illness and brings awareness and understanding I think this

112book does involve sexual content and its descriptions may not be appropriate for students I am concerned with the younger impressionable students reading this material because there are sexual situations and scenarios tilt sheds light on present issues going on in the world and gives you an understanding of how teenagers are learning and navigating through these changes does this work offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups two people said yes one person said no other comments were the book involves three teens who are dealing with very difficult situations the characters faced many obstacles but learning from past mistakes was not a part of the story lines I do not believe it addresses achievements of any groups or problems faced by cultures or minority groups

113although it may give some adults the opportunity to discuss some of these topics if they both read the book I would find it difficult to read with my child yes teen pregnancy lgbtq plus tough family Dynamics chronic illness and brings awareness and understanding yes tilt dives into the life of several teens and shares their individual yes yet intertwined daily experiences including but not limited to sexual activity STDs drugs and alcohol are questionable elements of this work an important part of the overall development of the story or text reading this novel will result in a more compassionate understanding of human beings the book provides a glimpse into the lives of lgbtq plus students of different backgrounds socioeconomic and family structures and terminal illness readers of this novel would be able to grow and understand how each

114of these groups endures and overcomes various challenges yes yes it allows one to see events and dialogue that can lead to students being in tough situations no the drug abuse sex language and subject matter is inappropriate the questionable elements of this work are the sexual situations and descriptions in the language was graphic no while tilt has many adult situations for a teenage reader this book may give insight into the real life dangers that come with growing up so the majority opinion of the district committee is to retain Tilt at the high school level thank you Miss Cribbs and I will entertain emotion at this time motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain the book tilt by Ellen Hopkins at the high school level I have a motion to have a second second second

115by Miss castles board members any questions or discussion all right I have questions I want to make sure I heard there's only one coffee period is that what I heard one copy I was just looking at the spreadsheet when I heard that as well and what we had let me get back to that spreadsheet I have two in the collection at BC One in the collection of airport zero ebook copies all right so I have a motion to uphold the committee's decision to retain at the high school level but remember again if you will raise your hand all those in favor of supporting the committee's decision to retain please signify by saying I and raising your hand all those who oppose signify by saying no and raising your hand okay so that's zero to seven

116um and the book will be removed thank you and um Miss Henderson I think you're up again and this time it's the hate you give and I apologize for not announcing the book I'm just going down my list thank you the landscape of public education in South Carolina is changing and I believe it is a change for the better Financial barriers to Alternative K-12 education options are being removed by the swell and Charter Schools virtual schools homeschool co-ops and the new Esa bill that is set to expand in the coming years like our state superintendent I believe that competition is the tide that rises All Ships and given our Statewide proficiency statistics a shake-up in the industry is long overdue choices have been virtually non-existent outside of higher education until recently this is creating new

117and unique opportunities for local school districts like Lexington 2 to differentiate themselves to recapture their market share for lack of a better word my sincere hope is that the Lexington 2 board and administration recognizes this opportunity for what it is and takes advantage now I know you are all in the thick of revising policies so I'm thrilled to share our experience with policies ijl and kec since March 29 books have been contested through policy kec per policy the complainant is to submit the proper forms to the schools that house the books and a copy to the district office as well each school is to confirm receipt of the forms along with the district office this is the first place where the implementation of this policy fell off the tracks while the school district responded to

118each submittal we have yet to hear from many of the schools the next step in the process is the school level Review Committee per policy this committee is to be established at the start of the school year however when book challenges started coming in schools began scrambling to assemble their committees per policy this group is to be made up of a teacher an administrator the librarian and one parent to our surprise and frustration airport High School attempted to conflate the parent and teacher roles by using a teacher who is also a parent as a Committee Member at the review for flamer which is a lewd graphic novel that's being challenged in public schools Nationwide the school level reviews are to be completed within 15 days of the receipt of the complaint six months later and

119the majority of the school level reviews have not yet happened for the school reviews that did take place complainants were told they would be allowed to attend the school level review meetings in an observatory role only apparently this changed mid process because when one of the complainants arrived at Pine Ridge Middle School for a school review meeting there she was denied access this change in policy was never communicated by the district office this is problematic because the complainant then has no context for the school's reasoning for retaining the book when preparing to speak at the district level meeting we had the opportunity to speak with three different parents that served on various School level reviews they each expressed concern about the unfair committee makeup in fact one mom shared that it was made clear to

120her that because she was not an educator and had a different perspective that she was The Outsider the school level duties conclude with a recommendation to the district level committee the next step in the process is the district level Committee hearing per policy this committee is to meet within 15 days of the receipt of the school level recommendation however several books are being evaluated by the district level committee without having been evaluated at the school level per policy this committee is to be made up of two secondary teachers a middle school teacher two Elementary School teachers a librarian a district administrator and one parent so far there have been four District reviews and each one has had a different committee makeup two had seven committee members one had five and one had eight one of

121the district level committees had no parent representation at all this is unacceptable and we believe the results of that particular committee should be disqualified on those grounds there have been 23 District employees that have served at this level and only three parents it is quite apparent that Lexington 2 was ill-prepared for this process and it shows in the inconsistencies and follow-through of these book challenges as policies are being reviewed and revised this issue needs your attention sooner than later and I'm glad to hear that you you acknowledge that the overall makeup of the review Committees of the school and District level are highly concerning objectivity and impartiality should be of utmost importance as it stands in most cases the librarian that selects and submits the purchase order for the material in question serves on the

122committee that evaluates its value this is an indisputable conflict of interest and no other industry with such a biased participant be allowed to have a vote we believe that a more objective committee makeup would have an equal ratio of parent and community members to District employees since the librarian already voted when he or she purchased the book they should not be allowed to have a vote on whether the material is removed or retained but may serve in an advisory role this is a laborous and time-consuming process for all that are involved Our Hope continues to be that the Lexington 2 board and administration will be spurred on to create Common Sense policy that will restrict obscene and inappropriate material for mentoring our libraries and classrooms annual audits are essential to the success of such a

123policy okay so the hate you give the district level voted to remove this book from the Middle School level but to retain it at the high school level it is currently available at airport and BC it is one of the most contested books in american Public Schools since it was published in 2017. my reasons for challenging it are no different than hundreds of other parents across the country Through The Narrative of the main character star the author presents a world in which black people and other minorities are oppressed at the hands of both white people and the police the suppressor oppressed dichotomy is a major theme throughout the book and is also the basis for critical race Theory which is illegal to promote and teach in South Carolina Public Schools the language in this book

124is also calls for concern there are 236 profane words within the 460 pages of text the a word is used 37 times the b word 14 the f word is used 70 times 7-0 the n-word is used two times the p word is used ten times and the s word is used 103 times we obviously do not allow or encourage our students to speak this way at school but there is a noticeable disconnect with what we are offering them to read in addition to the subjectively offensive language readers will find sexual content and drug use but most importantly there are sweeping generalizations made about ethnic groups and racial stereotypes and the harmful demonization of law enforcement the book asserts that violent activism is the solution for the hate or oppression of forced on minorities by

125Society this is a trendy narrative with dangerous implications in Lexington 2 we have some amazing school resource officers that serve on our campuses each day we also have some incredibly dedicate dedicated officers that serve our communities each day do we have immoral police officers of course just like we have unethical doctors attorneys ministers and teachers there is no profession that is immune to corruption because all professions are made up of people and in our Humanity we are all sinners in need of a savior but that's a conversation for another day my point is it is dangerous to paint with such broad Strokes when we discuss Industries ethnicities races or any other trait and we need to be particularly careful when we are offering these ideas to impressionable minors schools whether public or private have every

126right and responsibility to curate collections that best align with the values of the community and District all while supporting their academic goals therefore when a school or District selects a title and places it on their shelves in essence it is giving a stamp of approval or an endorsement of the subject matter and the ideas presented within the text School library offerings should be edifying enriching challenging and most importantly have an educational benefit the parents and taxpayers of this community should have every confidence that our school library collections are objective not provocative especially when they're offered without parental consent public libraries on the other hand should and are able to offer a much wider variety of materials because their focus is not academic growth and instruction this book is available in the Lexington County Public Library

127system and it should be there these challenges have nothing to do with book Banning and censorship as some might believe they have everything to do with determining their purpose and value in an academic setting as you decide the Fate for this book I would ask that you consider how the ideas language obscenities and ideologies contribute to the growth of our student body thank you Miss Hendricks and I believe I see Mr Chapman coming to the podium as our committee chairperson thank you Mr Chapman good evening Madam chair board members and Dr Hafner I'm here today to to talk about the hate you give my committee held our meeting on 8-1 it consisted of five individuals holding various uh positions in the school district from teachers to District level Administration uh just to go ahead and

128give a summation of how our community turned out our committee voted uh on this title at the middle school level we decided to remove the title the vote was unanimous at the high school level uh we voted to retain the title the votes for the one four to one and uh also trying to follow the same format as my colleagues uh I'm just going to read off uh our summary and I broke it down in question form with everybody's response what is the overall purpose of this book did it accomplish this purpose the book's purpose was to understand the perspective of African-Americans in regards to their relationship with Society the police and the justice system the overall purpose of this book was to share true stories so others can relate but it was also an

129intriguing story of what could happen in this crazy world we all see the bad stories in the news uh and yes this truly does happen why not share the whole story instead of the headlines this was an inspirational book and an accomplished its purpose the purpose of this book is to bring racism and brutality into light this book also shows the importance of speaking up for what is right the purpose of this book is to bring racism and brutality uh to the Forefront this book also shows that we as people have to speak up for what's right and what's not wrong it also gives a first person example and shows the current situation in America in relation to police brutality and racism uh it does affect african-americ the African-American Community the book did accomplish its

130purpose also checking the general acceptance of the material and some of the reviews that came from uh some lists and some awards the book did receive numerous Awards and recognitions this book is a national award winner it's highly recommended by several literary Outlets the book is highly recommended by many respected reviewers of printed material the book has also been adapted into a major major Motion Picture This Book has a 5 out of five rating uh from the Common Sense Media Group for children older than 13. uh it has a four for educational value of five for positive messages a five for positive role models three for violence three for sex and romance four for language three for drinking and drug use and that's like on a one to five scale uh from Common Sense Media

131Group uh other Wars receive uh the Coretta Scott King award the Michael L Prince honor and uh Odyssey award uh does this title meet the uh the guidelines for District Two uh material uh the book does not meet the criteria of board policy uh due to language the book does not meet the guidelines due to inappropriateness of language uh the book is definitely a good read the story he speaks about many things that happen in the African-American Community according to the material selection criteria set forth by the district it does fit the criteria uh only in uh but not in these following areas appropriateness of language uh expectations values of the school Community uh also this book is uh rated y a which is young adult our youth are our future leaders they need to

132hear about the injustices that continue to occur and that are being swept on the road as far as uh weighing the value of the book versus The Faults uh also um you know why reading or listening to this book does it result in us being more compassionate understanding of other human beings does his work also offer an opportunity to understand and better appreciate the aspirations achievements and problems of different cultures and or minority groups is well are there any questionable elements in this work that are important to the overall development of the story of text so I got a few things to read from my committee this book will help students understand the insecurities some African-American have with the police it also helps students understand the different living circumstances of other students that other students

133have to deal with from the nice Suburban neighborhood to the run-down gang-infested neighborhoods not all of our students live in the nicer neighborhoods uh the boy in the book is unarmed and he is killed by police officer when he asked the pastor of the car if she is all right the police officer is tried and is found not guilty and it Riot happens in the neighborhood the book isn't against police officers the main character in the book who was in the car with the boy was killed the main character was in the car of the boy who was killed and she also has an uncle who is a police officer the book does mention birth control and sex however in the book The girl tells her boyfriend to stop when they are making out and

134he did there's a lot of profanity in this book uh the book is also you the book is supposed to be used uh in a result to form a more compassionate understanding of human beings uh it also shows how one situation can be viewed in different ways the book does offer an opportunity to understand the problems of different cultures and or minority groups unfortunately there's an abundance of profanity the profanity is one of the main reasons that this book is being challenged the book was child the book is also being challenged due to the excessive use of profanity and dimension of produce police brutality uh it is excessive and it's unnecessary to be in the book to tell the story without a doubt this book will give insight to what has happened to many of

135the African-American males in America in reference to police brutality it also gives a good insight to the strength of family and the support that a neighborhood could bring into any situation the book also serves as a means of teaching the reader how to Advocate and fight for what's right the biggest concern is the context of delivery the book is filled with a lot of profanity and violence of course the book is an excellent example of the above statement even though some may not like the story or not understand it it does and has happened numerous times in this country it can definitely help one understand the struggle of the African-American community and my last statement the biggest element that causes the problem for this book to be on the school library show is a profanity

136and the frequency of the profanity to tell the overall story within the context of the pages thank you Mr Chapman I'll entertain a motion motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain at the high school level remove at the middle school level the book The hate you give by Angie Thomas I have a motion by Ms Kessler to have a second second second by Miss castles four members any discussion or questions Mr Bratt Madam chair thank you I just wanted to note if you happen to look up the word count on here or after reading it I noticed that the word count didn't seem correct um and one of the book reports has a altered word count I think it's probably just an accident so for instance the uh the f word instead of

137being a mere 70 times if you use AI to search it it's used 97 times the a word is actually used 117 times so if you use uh one of the sites it'll give you a wrong word count I just wanted to make sure that was noted to go to uh Mr Chapman's notes about the extreme profanity I have a hand up down here too yes Miss castles um I think when we are moving forward and working on this policy I I do want to look at uh you know if a complaint is going to turn in the book If if they've read the book fully to have a very good view of it when it's turned into us so just something I mean this is all new but just to see how that goes

138because to get a good idea of the book to read it said that when we were working on this policy I think we need to look at when the complainant turns the book in to make sure it's read or not I don't know how we feel about that but I've just noticed a couple of them have not been read and it's hard to get a picture to me without reading it a little note okay so that that's good for the um policy discussion on thank you Miss castles Miss Kessler Madam chair I'd like to amend the motion to read I make a motion to uphold the book committee's decision to retain at the high school level for and restrict it to 11th and 12th graders only okay so Ms Kessler has now made an amendment

139to uphold the committee but to restrict 11th and 12th graders only do I have a second by Mr Bray any discussion as to that all right we're voting only on the amendment so the amendment would be to restrict as to 11th and 12th graders board members all those in favor of the amendment to the motion please signify by raising your hand and saying I I I and opposed please raise your hand and signify by saying no so we are six one on amending the motions and Ms Kessler if we'll reread the motion that we're now voting on yes yes motion to uphold the whole decision to retain at the high school level for restricted to 11th and 12th grade students remove at the middle school level the book The hate you give by Angie Thomas

140so I have a motion to have a second second by Miss castles board members any further discussion or questions okay then all those in favor of retaining the book at the high school level solely for grades 11 and 12 signify by raising your hand and saying I I those who vote to remove raise your hand and signify by saying no okay so just to uh recap this evening because I realized that the people in the audience may be able to see us with our hands and it's confusing enough for me just looking but those watching at home may not have been able to see that we reviewed we reviewed five books tonight um bathed the cat was voted 5-2 to retain the passing Playbook was voted for three to retain at high school level only

141um the book groan was voted against the district's recommendation zero to seven so it will be removed the book tilt was voted against the recommendation of the district zero to seven so it will be removed and the hate you give was amended for retaining for 11th and 12th graders only and that motion passed four to three um with that we appreciate everybody's patience um this evening I would thank the committee chair people I know that was a very difficult thing to stand up and read all of the comments but I think y'all did a really good job of containing all of those and I certainly think the complainants for your time I'm standing up in front of a big crowd is tough I recognize that and I appreciate you doing that for us with that

142I'll entertain a motion Miss Kessler excuse me I'm sorry I make a motion that the Board of Trustees in our closed session for legal advice I have a motion by Ms Kessler to have a second second by Miss castles board members any discussion all those in favor signify by saying aye aye and opposed and we are now in executive session thank you for coming this evening board members we will take a quick Comfort break as well thank you I make a motion that the meeting be reconvened in Open Session and appropriate affidavit execute I have a motion by Ms Kessler a second by Mr Bray all those in favor signify by saying aye opposed motion carries no actions no votes were taken an executive session and I don't believe we have any motions as a

143result of executive session so at this time I will entertain a motion to adjourn motion adjourned by Miss Alfred Wooten and second by Mr key all those in favor signify by saying aye and we stand adjourned thank you