Camdenton Upholds Decision To Retain Controversial Library Book

After a formal appeal to remove the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson from the Camdenton Middle School library, the Board of Education decided to retain the book with restrictions.

Gerald Greenheck, a local resident, made a formal complaint for a CMS committee to review and remove the book for "sexually explicit and pervasively vulgar language in the book."

Speak, published in 1999, follows the struggles of a 13-year-old girl after she is raped at a party before starting high school. Melinda, the main character, tells her story in first person through four periods of freshman year. Through her work on an art project, Melinda finally becomes able to face what really happened to her.

A Goodreads review of the book says the author speaks up for disenfranchised teens while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself. With over 35,000 reviews, the book has received a 4.05 star rating out of 5.

On the complaint form, Greenheck cited a R.E.M.O.V.E. Report about Speak via takebacktheclassroom.com. These book reports give parents and community members detailed evidence of "explicit and pervasively vulgar content" found within school libraries and steps to remove the books.

"In regard to sexually explicit or obscene materials, it is simple: if they are under 18, it is never appropriate. Even if they're over 18, when purchased with tax dollars, it is never appropriate," Greenheck explained. "If a parent wants to expose their child to this kind of content, let them pay for it on their own dime. According to Missouri statute, it is illegal for schools to purchase illicit materials for students using tax payer money."

Pursuant to the Camdenton R-III School District Board of Education-adopted procedure KLB-AP1, CMS Principal Bobby Sangster arranged a review committee—himself, two community members, a parent with a child in the district, two educators, and a library media specialist—who read the book and submitted a written report of their findings.

The committee recommended retaining the book in the library, with restrictions.

Greenheck received the decision of the review committee and submitted an appeal. The Board of Education could then vote to retain the book, keep it with restrictions, or remove the book from the district.

On July 13, the BOE upheld the committee's decision. Speak now has the following restrictions in Camdenton schools: 7th and 8th grade students can access it without parental consent, while 6th grade students can access the book with parental permission.

"If the book is inappropriate for an 11-year-old, it is inappropriate for a 12-year-old," Greenheck said of the restrictions.

The Board's decision is final, and will not accept another challenge for the same material more than once every three years. The district said they have received 11 complaints in the past two years.

In April, he discovered there were 75 inappropriate books with explicit content in the Camdenton R-III School District library, according to takebacktheclassroom.com. Sixty of those have been removed, but the rest are still under review.

"Once these kids see these books, their innocence is robbed. There is no going back," Greenheck said. "Seventy-five books is an indication of a bigger issue. Who is vetting these books? What they are doing is not working. All they have to do is check takebacktheclassroom.com before they purchase books."

Greenheck encourages parents to monitor what books their students are being exposed to.

The next Camdenton Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 10.