A Menomonee Falls School Board member wants books removed from the high school library to be returned, saying policy wasn't followed

A Menomonee Falls School Board member is alleging the Menomonee Falls School District did not follow policy when it removed 33 books from the high school library and wants the books returned.

In a Nov. 14 Facebook post, Keri Duce said just one community member requested all 33 books to be banned and that they "are part of a larger list of informal challenges."

Duce's post contradicts what district Superintendent David Muñoz said in an Oct. 25 statement.

More: These 43 books have been banned from school libraries in Wisconsin in 2023

Muñoz said the books were compiled in a list over two years by school board president Nina Christensen and other board members, whom he did not name.

Muñoz said that during a regular weekly meeting this summer with Christensen, Christensen shared the list of books, and Muñoz was tasked with reviewing them to see whether they complied with board policy.

Muñoz also said he met with two "trusted administration leaders," whom he did not name, and then decided that the 33 books violated district policy related to sexually explicit content and profanity and ordered their removal.

He did not immediately respond to either a phone or email message requesting a response to Duce's post.

Duce also said in her Facebook post that neither the school board nor any school board committee discussed the books. She maintains the directive to remove the books was made without a formal review as required under the board's policy.

"The book review process has several steps including reading the book, assessing a variety of educational resources and literature reviews, evaluating circulation records, and considering if other school libraries in the area carry the book," Duce wrote. "It is an objective, fact-based process completed by library professionals. If the level one review is not reasonable the procedure in (policy) 872 lists additional options for review including a reconsideration committee which includes community input."

The district in April approved a new policy and procedure for handling challenges to library books. The first step of the process is for the library media specialist and school administrator to consider the request. If rejected, the request can then be made to a "reconsideration committee" of school staff and parents, followed by the superintendent and, last, the school board, if the requester is still unsatisfied.

Duce also noted that library books are not purchased with taxpayer dollars, but rather by the Wisconsin Common School Fund. The fund was established after donated land was sold for to create a permanent school fund to support and maintain public schools' libraries. In 2022-23, the Menomonee Falls School District received $230,915 from the fund.

Parents and guardians can control what books their students can and cannot access in the library, Duce said, adding, "All they have to do is reach out."

The district's policy prohibits books and materials containing "sexually explicit language and/or images which may be considered inappropriate for students" while also prohibiting profanity at the elementary level. It allows limited profanity at the middle and high school levels if its use "is central to the plot, characters, or literacy merit of the material."

Duce called for the books to be returned to the high school library until the district's procedure over challenges to library materials is followed.

"Banning American classics without transparency can’t become commonplace in our community. And let’s face it, if kids can endure lockdown drills, they can certainly read a book about a school shooting," Duce said in her Facebook post.

Duce did not immediately respond to an email asking about the reaction to her post or information about next steps she would take.

Christensen, along with board members Jennifer Grant, Shelley Holzman, Sarah Renn, Chris Stueland and Joel Woppert, did not immediately respond to emails seeking their response to Duce's post and her request to return the books.

Author whose book was banned calls out Munoz, Christensen

An author whose book was one of those removed from the high school library called out Muñoz and Christensen for not meeting with her to explain the district's decision.

"A few weeks ago I wrote to Superintendent Muñoz of @MenomoneeFalls School District asking him and board president Christensen to zoom with me so they could explain to me face to face why my book was removed from the high school library. To date: no response. What is he afraid of?" author Jodi Picoult wrote Nov. 9 on her X account.

Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes" is on a list of the removed books. The book is about the events leading up to and the aftermath of a school shooting by a bullied student.

Picoult's tweet came a few weeks after parents in support of or against the books' removal spoke out at the Menomonee Falls School Board's Oct. 23 meeting.

Susan Corcoran, the director of publicity for Random House Group, who handles publicity and book donation requests for Picoult, said in an email that Picoult was unavailable for an interview.

Muñoz has not yet responded to messages requesting an interview to respond to Picoult's tweet.

Christensen responded via email by referring a reporter to the statements she and Muñoz made after the Oct. 23 school board meeting, but did not say whether she had received Picoult's message.

"Our prior statements are factual, provided information on past practices and outlined the administration's authority to make guided decisions. Our School District is moving forward and focusing on our strategic planning and student achievement," Christensen said.

In her Oct. 23 statement, Christensen said she was not involved in the decision, but that she supported the decision made by the superintendent, director of curriculum and learning and director of human resources.

Christensen also said that some of the removed books contained "graphic scenes of child rape, incest, and obscene sexual activity," and said that children are reading that content without parental knowledge.

"So how are we, as a District, in compliance with state statute to protect children when we have books in our school libraries that contain almost 670 expletives, 400 of which are f-bombs and many others, or books that contain sexually graphic and explicit excerpts? How is it age appropriate for our students?" Christensen said in her statement.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Menomonee Falls School Board member wants removed books returned