In the wake of comments made on Facebook by Old Rochester Regional District School Committee member Joe Pires, Rochester resident Rhonda Baptiste filed an Open Meeting Law complaint with the state.
Their disagreement on the ramifications of censorship of sexual content in public-school libraries brought out dozens of Tri-Town citizens, both in person and via Zoom, to the committee’s October 19 public meeting.
In introducing the topic to the committee, ORR Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson advised its members that as a public body, the law requires the committee to review the complaint and respond in writing within 14 business days. Nelson recommended the committee delegate that responsibility of response to the legal counsel of Attorney Peter Sumners, who had received the notice that day and was in the process of reviewing the complaint.
Attending the meeting via Zoom, Sumners told the committee that he had not yet prepared a proposed response, but he stated he would certainly complete one within the 14 business-day period. He also noted that there were three similar complaints filed to other school committees within the ORR District.
In referencing Pires’ Facebook post, which shared a newspaper article about recent discussion over banning books in the ORR High School and Junior High libraries, Sumners stated that the issue was not a clear one, as it is generally acceptable for members of a public body to be members of the same Facebook group so long as they are not deliberating committee matters outside of a publicly posted, publicly accessible meeting.
In response to the complaint, Pires addressed the committee, reading from a prepared statement. In it, he stated that he shared a newspaper article about the various discussions relating to certain books in the ORR High School library. He said his only intention was to create awareness for “many parents who did not know what was going on in our school system, particularly in the library.”
Pires stated one of his goals as a school-community member was to preserve the excellence of the school and continue to ensure that it does what is right for students, faculty and the community as a whole. Pires emphasized that there was no intention on his part to disrupt the school-committee process, and he restated that he wanted simply to create awareness and offer his opinion for a viable solution. He then went on to clarify that he was not in favor of banning books.
“As a minority, I recognize the importance of equity, inclusion and diversity, and I would never want to impede with any type of learning relating to this subject matter. I am in favor of eliminating explicit sexual content from this type of reading material. Sexual content in this nature is unacceptable, and therefore (we) should have zero tolerance for it.
“In my opinion, content such as this can be looked at (as) … child abuse and (can) cause trauma to a child, especially at a young age. Allowing access to sexual content such as two boys giving oral sex to one another is not doing what’s right for our children.”
Pires went on to state that the allegation of Open Meeting Law violation has no merit or basis, sourcing the viewpoint directly to Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
“I am not sure what motivated Rhonda Baptiste to make this complaint,” continued Pires. “My advice to her would be to spend more time reading the materials that we’re questioning, and hopefully she can come to the same conclusion that many parents throughout (Massachusetts), throughout Marion, Rochester, Mattapoisett, have come to, that this is unacceptable. It has no business in our school system.
“This complaint has now created even more awareness throughout our Tri-Town and surrounding communities. I’m hoping that we can all come together and work towards a solution that is in the best interest of all of our students at ORR and our communities surrounding us.”
He finished his statement with this: “I don’t know what else to say, but my opinion was my opinion, and I’m sure everyone has read that. It was simply to suggest that we need a better system for eliminating and approving this vile material, as far as I’m concerned. Two people having oral sex is vile.”
As Pires read the final sentence of his statement, a gasp and several murmurs were heard from those in attendance, and ORR School Committee Chairperson Michelle Smith sought to bring an end to Pires’ statement. Pires said he was finished.
The committee, with Pires abstaining, voted to approve authorizing Sumners as its designated representative on this matter before opening the floor to public comments.
First to speak was Mattapoisett resident Randy Allain.
“I hope that we will remember how dangerous it is to talk about the sexualized content in books without addressing the context of what the book is about,” Allain stated. “Because even when people’s intent is positive and in the interest of their children, that has the effect of weaponizing the book. It has the effect of stigmatizing the book. And then, regardless of what this community wants to do about the books, the effect is going to be stigmatizing underserved groups in our schools. And there are going to be students who have to bear the weight of that conversation if it’s not done in a respectful way, if it’s not done with a consideration of the context of this material and why it was chosen.
“I know people have a lot of strong opinions that they’ve thought about that are meaningful, and … I just hope everyone will remember what’s at stake here because, if this conversation doesn’t go well, children are going to be hurt by it regardless of what we decide. Thank you so much.”
Baptiste spoke next, reading a collective letter signed by 631 community members. She asked those attending in support to stand, and those on Zoom to activate their clap emojis. The following is an excerpt from the letter, which was shared publicly:
“As members of the Old Rochester Regional School District community, we are speaking out against the efforts to suppress, demonize and ban books from our district’s school libraries. These attempts target books by and about LGBTQ+, black people, indigenous people and people of color.
“Attempts to ban books highlighting underrepresented kids sends them the message: You shouldn’t exist; your story doesn’t matter, and we don’t want our kids to empathize with you. This is a dangerous message, which can result in grave consequences, like depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. No child should feel like they are unworthy and undeserving of love and respect.”
Baptiste’s message was received with a round of applause from public citizens in attendance.
Several others spoke out against the banning of books before the 15 minutes allotted for public comments had expired, and the committee moved on to its next items.
The rest of the meeting consisted of a presentation on the updated disciplinary policy, as well as OpenSciEd, materials for which are available on the ORR website. They then moved on to approving the DECA (ORR’s business club) trips for the 2022-23 academic year and discussing a lunch price increase, which only affects students seeking a second meal during a single school day, as the first breakfast and lunch are free.
At the close of the meeting, before the committee adjourned to enter executive session, Nelson took a moment to speak on the policies for the ORR School District as they pertain to library books.
“Books are placed on shelves by librarians,” he said. “Librarians are highly trained, certified professionals who use their skills, experience and education to, among other things, select materials that are suitable for the shelves of the libraries.
“We are aware that an individual recently filed and then later withdrew a complaint about book selection in our school libraries. The Old Rochester Regional School District and Superintendency Union Number 55, like all other public schools in our nation, strive to provide a variety of educational materials in our libraries on a wide range of topics and viewpoints in an effort to provide a proper and well-rounded education for our students.
“Librarians are notoriously thick-skinned. Calls to review books are not new, and I see nothing to indicate that they’ll disappear anytime soon, but I would like to say that we require our librarians here to keep up to date with state and federal education standards and guidelines. And, while we are certainly aware that not all books are appropriate or age appropriate for all schools, as your superintendent and as a leader in this school system, I feel that the topic of library books is safest when it’s left in the hands of librarians. … That’s all I’d like to say on this topic, and I appreciate everybody being open minded and willing to discuss this in a civil manner.”
The next meeting of the ORR School Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14, at 6:30 pm.
ORR School Committee
By Jack MC Staier