North Hunterdon-Voorhees book banners lose again; board prez says other work to be done

CLINTON TOWNSHIP – The North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District Board of Education has again defeated an effort to remove a book on adolescent relationships and sexuality from the school district's libraries.

The effort to ban "Let's Talk About It, The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human (A Graphic Novel)" by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan was defeated Tuesday by a 7-4 board vote.

Kristina Cagno, Nicole Gallo, Cynthia Reyes and Kimberly Solino voted in favor of pulling the book from library shelves. Board President Glenn Farbanish, Vice President Tara Marie Hintz, John Melick, Daniel Spanton, Brian Chapman, Beth Kotran and Brendan McIsaac voted against the move while Jessica Viotto was absent.

Tuesday's vote was the latest chapter in the long-running controversy over banning certain books from the district's libraries that has roiled the district and has placed it in an unwelcome spotlight.

In February, a resident asked the board to remove the book that's in a graphic novel format.

Superintendent Jeffrey Bender then formed a review committee – a principal, vice principal, health teacher, an out-of-district librarian, a former school counselor and a parent – that met three times in March and April to review the book.

The committee's report, given to the board and the resident in April, delivered a split opinion.

According to Farbanish, three committee members voted to keep the book on the shelves because they believed its merits outweighed any drawbacks.

But three committee members voted to remove it because of contents in the second chapter and concerns about sexting.

At Tuesday's meeting, several community members said the issue centered on a child's right to read, standing up to censorship, protecting democracy, honoring student input, and respecting a librarians' professionalism.

"Our library should be a place where all of our students get access to materials to help them gain knowledge to aid them in navigating around," said Phillip Trager of Annandale. "But make no mistake. This is not only about sex ed books. The same people looking to stifle access to these books are also targeting books that don't present the American experience in a way that aligns with their preferred interpretation. Their goal is to modify or hide historical fact."

Trager called the effort to ban the book an "attack on our democracy," adding it was a step to censoring the content of textbooks.

More: Book ban rhetoric heats up again in North Hunterdon-Voorhees school district

North Hunterdon High School librarian Martha Hickson, who has come under attack in the controversy over book banning, said she was disheartened to see no students were included on the review committee.

Like several others at the meeting, Hickson, who has received national recognition for her efforts to resist book banning, read comments from students who could not attend the board meeting.

"Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds, live in a variety of family settings and carry an assortment of burdens, many of them unknown to us," Hickson said. "I am proud that our library books provide a safe private space for students to independently seek answers to the questions that concern. Please keep it that way."

After an hour of public comments − the majority against banning the book − several board members debated the book's potential impact on students and whether it qualifies as obscene.

Jude Gepp, the student representative to the board, said the book had helped many students.

"I have spoken to multiple students about this book," Gepp said. "I didn't want them to just tell me what I already I've heard. I had a lot of people read the book and tell me that they found it very impactful. The book as a whole did educate them about consent and safety and a lot of them have realized that their consent and safety had been violated in the past and that prompted them to speak to their parents about it, which helped them find closure."

Both Gepp and Spanton said that the board should trust in the librarians who select and vet the books for the school libraries.

"When I was running to become a board member, I spoke to a longtime board member and the one thing they told me one thing you need to learn as a board member is that we don't run the district," Spanton said. "We hire the professionals. The book has been vetted. It's been found to not be obscene. It's been approved by national organizations to come to the district and then it's for you, by our administration and our librarian, to be part of the library. I don't think we can make decisions when we're not the professionals."

Farbanish said the board has to find a better way of dealing with the issue, a comment that was applauded by many in attendance.

"We burn up huge amount of oxygen in this room on this topic," he said. "I'm getting to the point where I'm upset that we're not talking about other things. We have to find a better solution. I'm going to be honest − we're not doing our jobs. As a collective board and administration, we have to find a better way to deal with this because this is we are not addressing things I really wish to be addressing."

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: North Hunterdon-Voorhees NJ book banners defeated again