Ludlow school committee opts not to vote on policy that would have allowed them to override librarians

The Ludlow School Committee chose not to vote on a proposed book policy that would have allowed the committee to override school librarians’ decisions on what books to include in a school’s collection.

The decision effectively quashes the proposal for the time being.

There was an hour of public comment last Wednesday – in addition to a two-hour comment period May 23 – that at some points got rowdy, with the committee unable to quiet members of the community. One person demanded speaking time, talking over the committee and delaying the start of conversation on the next topic.

Once the committee returned conversation to the book policy, there was a motion to table the conversation and get legal advice on the policy. Members Joao Dias – who proposed the policy – and Ronald Saloio were in favor of this.

Dias said the policy would give the school committee powers within its rights. He added that it is their responsibility to protect the community.

“Whether you decide to approve this policy or not … something should be done,” he said. “There have been issues over the past five or six years.”

The current policy, he added, is not clear and needs to include explicit information about a parent’s ability to challenge books in the catalog. 

Both Dias and Saloio brought up the book “A Court of Mists and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas as an example of “pornography” that had been removed from the middle school catalog in 2019. They also mentioned “Glass,” by Ellen Hopkins, which was removed from middle school circulation.

“Why is it in our libraries if it doesn’t have to be there?” Saloio said about explicit content. He also asked if anyone had data to show if this type of material is beneficial for children’s education.

When it came time to vote on the motion to table the conversation, Secretary Jeffrey Stratton, Vice Chair Sarah Bowler, and Chair Jeffery Laing were in opposition, triggering further discussion. 

“The policy in my mind is going above and beyond the role of the school committee,” said Secretary Jeffrey Stratton. “It’s involving the school committee in everyday operating decisions of the librarians in the school district, and in the state of Massachusetts that’s not what we’re here to do.”

Vice Chair Sarah Bowler raised concerns about people who spoke at the meeting not being from the community. She pointed out a reverend who was not from Ludlow, and said she worried some of the others reading Bible passages at the meeting also resided elsewhere.

She also said the policy was discriminatory.

“You can say it’s not banning, you can say it’s not anti-whatever, it is,” she said.

Laing reminded attendees that the school committee is elected, and the members on the committee are subject to change.

“The committee could change any way, any which way, and I’m not in favor of giving operational control to the people on this committee,” he said. “That is why we have a superintendent and why we have our educators.”

He added that having pornography in schools is already illegal, and he doesn’t see a need to have this additional policy, which he said was “not realistic.”

At the end of the conversation, only Dias spoke in favor of a vote. Lacking a second, the committee held no vote on the matter, meaning the current policy from the American Libraries Association would remain. 

Laing added that he does not expect to deal further with the policy during his time as chair.

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