The Newtown Board of Education has voted against banning two books from their high school’s library. It’s the end of a weeks-long saga that divided the Board of Education and the community.
Instead, school administrators will work with those parents who do not want their kids to read the books on a case-by-case basis.
Ten Newtown residents initially complained about "Flamer" by Mike Curato and "Blankets" by Craig Thompson, both graphic novels about LGBTQ+ youth. Newtown activists say those individuals did not have kids in the school.
Complaints came from Republican Town Committee Chair Bill DeRosa, who is also a legislative council member for Newtown’s District 1, his Republican spouse Kersti Ferguson who is a member of Newtown’s Planning and Zoning Board, District 1 Republican legislative council member Lisa Kessler, and Melissa Gomez, Newtown Education Supporters Facebook page admin. The Newtown Allies for Change got those names through a Freedom of Information request.
After receiving the complaints, a committee of educators and administrators reviewed the novels and voted unanimously to keep them in circulation.
On May 16, the board was split on whether or not to accept the committee’s decision.
Another vote was scheduled for June 1, when the full 7-member board would be available for a vote. One member had been absent at the first vote for a personal matter, allowing for a tie.
At the time, Republicans held a 4-3 majority on the board.
But that changed when two Republicans resigned the night before the vote.
Janet Kuzma and Jennifer Larkin did not explain their departures. They were both elected to serve on the board in 2021 and were supposed to stay until 2025.
More than 150 community members attended Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, and around 15 students, parents and community members spoke.
Newtown High School students, like class president Kate Shirk, said taking the books out of the library would have been a betrayal of trust.
“Kids like me die when policymakers politicize and eradicate our stories,” Shirk said. “Books like these offer hope. They offer a path forward a way to live when it seems impossible. We have these books and we will not let them be taken away from us.”
Parents, including Jennifer Killin, said banning the books would not shelter kids from reading about sex, but it would hurt LGBTQ youth who turn to the novels for support.
“Do you know what I worry about as a parent of two high school students? Substance abuse, car accidents, sexual assault, gun violence, bullying, suicide,” Killin told board members on Thursday. “It's never occurred to me to worry about my kids reading a book.”
Only one person spoke in favor of removing the books.
Multiple called for the resignation of Republican BOE chair Deborra Zukowski.
At the meeting, Zukowski said she had initially voted to ban the books because she wanted more time to work out a new system with other board members. She said she knew the vote would tie, giving the board more time to make a decision.
In Newtown, the books went unread for years before the scandal. “Flamer” had never been checked out, and “Blankets” was only checked out one time in 2015.
Newtown isn’t the only Connecticut municipality that has seen book-banning attempts.
According to the president of the Connecticut Library Association, 38 similar challenges have occurred in other Connecticut towns.
