BROOKFIELD, Wis. — The Elmbrook School Board rejected a call to remove books from a high school English class. The books in question were “The Kite Runner” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Those books will stay in the classroom as a very close vote.
The decision came Tuesday night in a four to three vote. It was met with applause from the audience.
Before that vote, more than a dozen community members spoke against removing the book. Kevin Matthews, a father of four has been to multiple meetings speaking out against the proposal.
“Really books are a proxy for educators because our educators [and] our teachers are coming up with this curriculum. They are saying as professionals that these are books that they recommend and want to teach and our school boards are overreaching and saying, ‘As non-educators, I don’t like what you are doing, so I want to impose my will into your classroom,’” said Matthews.
School Board member Sam Hughes, who wanted the books removed said he has nothing against teachers and has one issue with these two books.
“In 99.9 percent of the things that are brought to the board we agree with and we move through,” said Hughes.
But as he explained further saying this was not a political choice, the crowd started to speak over him.
Watch: Elmbrook Schools narrowly votes to keep 2 books from being removed
“It is funny that the laughter is about it being a political thing. This is about my relationship with my savior and God, who dictates my morality and I am required by my relationship with him to make sure that we don’t provide obscene material to children. These are children.”
Superintendent Mark Hansen argued that the books were for advanced placement (AP) English, which is an optional college-level class. The books have been taught for more than a decade by teachers who know how to teach sensitive subjects. On top of that, parents know about the books and can make the right decisions for their own students.
“Trust our teachers to teach, trust our parents to parent, trust our students to learn,” said Hansen.
He also called this proposal a “slippery slope” saying interfering with the teachers’ curriculum could make it hard for the district to get and keep good teachers.
You can watch the entire board meetinghere.
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