A few parents are speaking out against books available to children at the Murphy Elementary School Library.
A parent complained about books with LGBTQ+ content or themes being included in the library at each of the past two Northwest R-1 Board of Education meetings.
“If my children have a question about anything sexual-related, they talk to me,” district parent Heather Galbraith said at the May 18 meeting. “I do not condone my tax dollars being used to pay teacher salaries to push their own personal agendas, or for the purchase of these books to be used in indoctrination of my children. If a parent wants to allow their children to read books that involve this nature of information, they can purchase them privately.”
Also at that meeting, a district parent spoke in support of the library.
“I would just like to say that I know I’m not alone in my support of a library that includes inclusivity – celebrates inclusivity,” Megan Kinworthy said. “I appreciate having the opportunity for my children to choose books that tell stories about all kinds of people, all kinds of love.
“And when they bring home a book that raises questions or challenges our beliefs, we have a talk about it. We certainly have a conversation about it, as is our job as parents. Because while some of the characters in the books might go against what some people personally believe is right or wrong, I believe that there are many students who are very well served by seeing themselves represented in books.”
In April, Mary Dempsey complained about the Rainbow Library books and said administrators tried to tell her those books didn’t exist in Murphy’s library.
On Monday, Jennifer Hecktor, superintendent of Northwest Schools, told the Leader that Murphy’s library was awarded 16 books through a Rainbow Library Grant in 2021. According to RainbowLibrary.org/Missouri, 193 schools in Missouri have received the Rainbow Library grant and books. The program launched in 2020.
She and Principal Ernest Motley said they never tried to hide from parents the fact that the Rainbow Library books are in the library, and until recently a poster was hanging in the library indicating the books were there.
“(After receiving the grant), a student later wrote a winning essay about the inclusivity of the library and won a contest,” Hecktor said. “This was announced in the school newsletter by the principal to parents.”
“When asked questions about the Murphy Elementary library, I have never denied book titles that are in our library collection,” Motley said.
Hecktor said all materials in district libraries are catalogued and searchable for parents.
“We use Destiny as our library catalog, and our school websites contain links for easy accessibility for families,” she said. “Parents are able to use search terms (subject, title, author) to find books, and we honor any parent’s request to make certain book titles or books of a specific subject unavailable to their own child.
“Our Board of Education Regulation 6241 states, ‘The Board recognizes the right of individual parents/guardians to request that their children not have to read, view or listen to a specific instructional item, provided a written request is made to the appropriate building principal.’ We respect parents who do not want their children to have access to certain subject matter, and we have offered to assist parents in locating books with which they are concerned.
“It is not uncommon for parents to opt out of subjects for their children – a common request is to limit access to the fantasy genre such as Harry Potter or vampires, werewolves,” Hecktor said. “We have a process for a parent to challenge materials, and we follow our Board of Education policies if materials are challenged. We currently have seven titles undergoing the review process.”
When asked if the district has ever removed books based on parent complaints, Hecktor responded that the district follows its policy regarding challenged materials.
“Our 6241 Regulation states, ‘the Board will not remove a book or any media item from the library at the request of any individual or group because it is offensive to that individual or group but will evaluate the item on its value of educational interest,’” she said.
Hecktor said the Rainbow Library books currently are being reviewed “for elementary age-appropriateness and for other criteria per our policy through the challenged materials regulation.”
The district also recently removed the Rainbow Library poster “because there were no posters representing other populations of people,” Hecktor said.