"Slaughterhouse-Five" and "The Kite Runner" will stay on Brevard high school shelves
Though Brevard's school board spent less than a minute on the topic when it came time to vote, the discussion of book bans dominated public comment during Tuesday's board meeting.
Two books — "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini — were on Tuesday's agenda, with the board set to vote on whether or not to remove the books from all district schools. In two separate committee meetings, the district book review committee, made up of members selected by board members, made a recommendation to keep the books available to high schoolers. A sole member, Katie Delaney, who was appointed by Board Vice Chair Gene Trent, said both books should be removed from all schools.
Unlike at the previous board meeting, where board members discussed the contents of "Sold" by Patricia McCormick extensively before voting 4 to 1 to keep it on high school shelves, the vote was held quickly, quietly and unanimously for the two titles on Tuesday. The board made the decision with no discussion three hours into the meeting after listening to more than 20 speakers during public comment.
Prior to the vote, at least 18 people spoke against removing books from school libraries, with some directly discussing the two books on the agenda, while others spoke more broadly. No one spoke in favor of removing or restricting access to books.
Julie Montione, a teacher of humanities, spoke of books being the basis of education.
"Books are the most important tool of learning that the world has ever had," she said. "We need to be very cautious in removing those tools from institutions of learning. That's what schools are — they are places to learn, and books are tools to learn."
Samantha Kervin, a freshman, brought up concerns about how removing books like "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "The Kite Runner" — both of which have been included in AP courses — might impact her and other students considering taking AP classes.
"They're likely going to be on the AP exams, so they should be taught," she said.
Rachele Jolley also referenced AP classes, adding that parents have the right to make decisions for their individual child based on what they feel is appropriate without taking away a book for an entire district.
"Most teachers who might use ("Slaughterhouse-Five") under their supervision in the classroom will also willingly offer alternatives to parents who still object to the content," she said. "That's a stance most administrations have long since conceded to parents despite the teachers' training in selecting worthy and applicable texts for their curriculum."
Another book was pulled from district shelves several days prior to the board meeting. On Jan. 19, Tara Harris, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, emailed book review committee members to inform them that "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas — which the committee was set to review early next month — had been removed by a district team that included media specialists.
"The determination of sexual conduct from our understanding of the definition as defined in (state statute) was found," Harris said, going on to list specific pages and adding that the book had previously been reviewed before statutory language was updated.
"The title will be removed from use and the book committee review schedule will be updated, adding additional objected titles. We will continue this process alongside our book review committee to ensure our titles comply with the statutory language."
Other discussion: arming teachers, gradution rates
Multiple members of the public also brought up concerns about arming teachers, initially raised at an Oct. 24 board meeting, though Board Chair Megan Wright has since said she never intended to include teachers in the discussion.
No one who spoke at Tuesday's meeting was in favor of more guns in schools.
"Gun plus gun does not equal safety," said student Paige St. Marie. "Putting more guns in schools is not going to help the problem of guns in school. In fact, it makes it more accessible to students."
Comparing Brevard: How does Brevard Public Schools' guardian program compare to other Florida districts?
Last work session: 'Changing the narrative': Attorney counsels Brevard school board on improving public image
During the board work session, held prior to the evening meeting, Chief Operating Officer Rachad Wilson presented data from other counties about their guardian programs. Wright again asserted she doesn't want to arm teachers but would like to have guardians available to "fill in" if there's ever a shooting on a campus.
The goal moving forward is to get more data on how much it would cost to train guardians and to begin talking with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office regarding funding before more decisions are made.
Superintendent Mark Rendell also spoke at the board meeting of the district's graduation rates increasing last year according to state data released Tuesday.
Data shows BPS saw an increase in graduation rates at all but one of the 17 district high schools, with the overall rate going from 87.2% to 89.7%. Ten schools had a graduation rate higher than 90%.
"It's an incredible increase," Rendell said. "When you think about it, the on-time cohort graduation rate is always tied to the high schools, but it's a measure of your whole K-12 system. If they don't get to ninth grade with the skills and knowledge that they need to get through high school, then they're not going to graduate."
The increase in graduation rates is a reflection of all district schools and teachers, Rendell said.
"If you want to see how a school district is doing, and you only have one data point to look at, on-time graduation rate is the best data point to look at," he said.
Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard school board OK's 2 debated books: Which ones made the cut?
