ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Lucie County Board of Education voted 4-1 Tuesday night not to remove 16 books from their libraries and accepted the recommendation from the superintendent to limit which grade levels those books are available.
Jennifer Richardson with District 4 was the only board member who opposed the decision.
It was the second time the books were up for discussion.
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Deputy Superintendent Helen Wild told WPTV during the 2021-2022 school year, a citizen submitted a Request for Reconsideration form, asking the district to reconsider 17 books, including the "Kite Runner," for reasons she listed including sexual content, violence, and themes of race and LGBTQ+ issues.
Wild said whenever a citizen submits a request for removal form, the district forms several committees composed of teachers, parents and administrators. The committee members then read each book, discuss them, and make recommendations to the superintendent, who is Dr. Jon Prince.
"Those committees make a recommendation as to the age appropriateness of the book title, make sure it doesn’t violate any statute," Wild said.
The superintendent then makes a decision based on those recommendations. In this case, Wild said the decision was made to restrict six books to older grade levels, keep 10 titles at their original grade levels and remove one, "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult, from shelves due to content related to school shootings.
"Although they felt it was an important piece of literature, they felt it was an adult book," Wild said.
Wild said the citizen who made the request, Dale Galiano, then appealed that decision, asking again for the remaining 16 books to be taken off shelves.
“I feel like it is a mission from the Lord," Galiano said. “There are things in there that the mind is not prepared for, they haven’t lived enough of a life to figure it out. And if the parent wants to— go to the public library."
Parents were split on the issue.
“I feel like they should keep the books on there," said parent of three, Desmond Roberts. "I think it's important for their learning."
“I would ban that stuff," countered parent Kelsi Moss, referring to books that deal with heavier issues.
At the Book Exchange in Port St. Lucie, owner Meghan Wood told WPTV she's actually seen an uptick in people requesting books banned or on the chopping block.
"I've seen people with kids, people without kids very interested in the titles on this list," Wood said. "I've gotten a lot of emotional quips.”
Wood said she understands why some parents would have concerns about certain content in books, but said she feels many of the issues and stories in the books are important, and hopes that parents at least have access to them if they want them.
"Whether there is a book ban or isn’t a book ban, these books should remain in circulation," Wood said. "There’s always going to be someone who wants to read it."
Wild said even if a book isn't banned but a parent has concerns about it, they can request it be restricted for their specific child, instead of asking for it to be removed altogether.
Wild said Tuesday's decision is final, and while they will take public comment into consideration, she said it cannot be appealed again.
Under a new state law passed last year, parents, guardians and county residents may object to reading materials in school classrooms or libraries if they contain pornographic material or content "not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used."