Menomonee Falls school book ban; people voice support, opposition

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. - Days after the Menomonee Falls School District banned 33 books from the high school's library, parents, students and concerned community members spoke at a Monday night school board meeting.

The topic of banned books was not on the meeting agenda. Still, those who attended used the comment period to speak both in support and opposition of the decision.

"If you want these books, go to the public libraries or buy them on amazon," said Annette.

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"It is not the responsibility of the school board to impose your moral values," Mary Ellen said.

A few of the banned titles include Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five," Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," Gregory Maguire's "Wicked," Ellen Hopkins' "Identical" and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." The district said the banned books broke district guidelines for profanity and/or sexually explicit content.

"We are asked to grow and thrive and yet our school board decides it is above our right to chose what we read," said a current student. "We are given presentations asking the students to say no to drugs, while the school board does not trust us to choose the books available to use."

"It wasn't that long ago I was in high school, I agree these books in the library are inappropriate," said Sadie, a 2020 graduate.

The Menomonee Falls School District's current policy allows a parent or person living in the village to make a complaint about a book, which then triggers several levels of review. But there are questions about what process was used for these specific books.

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"If you aren't allowed to buy it from an adult bookstore, you shouldn't be able to check it out of the school library," Robert said.

"When a list of banned books has clearly discriminatory focus, it's going to invite challenges from parents to the non-discrimination clauses of local, state, and federal law," said Renee.

The board members and superintendent would not take FOX6 News' questions about why these particular books were removed and what process was taken.

Complete list of 33 books:

• "A Court of Frost and Starlight" by Sarah J. Maas
• "A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas
• "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas
• "A Court of Wings and Ruin" by Sarah J. Maas
• "Boy Toy" by Barry Lyga
• "Breathless" by Jennifer Niven
• "Damsel" by Elana Arnold
• "Empire of Storms" by Sarah J. Maas
• "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi
• "Identical" by Ellen Hopkins
• "Jesus Land: A Memoir" by Julia Scheeres
• "Kingdom of Ash" by Sarah J Maas
• "Last Night at the Telegraph Club" by Malinda Lo
• "Living Dead Girl" by Elizabeth Scott
• "Lucky" by Alice Sebold
• "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult
• "Perfect" by Ellen Hopkins
• "Shine" by Lauren Myracle
• "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
• "Sold" by Patricia McCormick
• "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
• "The Carnival at Bray" by Jessie Ann Foley
• "The Duff: a Novel" by Kody Keplinger
• "The Freedom Writers Diary"
• "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
• "The Haters" by Jesse Andrews
• "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
• "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
• "The Sun and Her Flowers" by Rupi Kaur
• "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins
• "What Girls Are Made Of" by Elana Arnold
• "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire
• "You: A Novel" by Caroline Kepnes

School Board President Nina Christensen and Superintendent David Muñoz released statements Tuesday morning, Oct. 24. FOX6 News requested interviews for several days -- with no response from board members. 

Superintendent David Muñoz statement: 

"Dr. Christensen, Thank you for your support at the board meeting Monday concerning my following Policy 365: Library Media Material Selection. 

Policy and Procedure 365 sets a standard for content in the materials available in school district libraries. The policy and procedure set guidelines based on age/grade appropriateness with specific focus on limiting or excluding materials with sexual content and profanity.  These guidelines were in the previous versions of the policy and procedure and should have been adhered to prior to the revisions made in April of 2023.  This is all before I started working in the school district.  With this knowledge, I directed after meeting with two other administrators about the topic for the district to be in compliance with Policy 365.  The 33 books removed are still available at several sources outside of the public school if parents individually choose to have them available for their children."

School Board President Nina Christensen:

"I want to clarify some misperceptions that have been floating in the news, social media and tonight regarding library books.

FIRST, the most recent decision to remove certain books was made pursuant to a review process that involved members of our professionally educated and experienced administration team, which included our Superintendent, Director of Curriculum & Learning, and Director of Human Resources, who also worked on the revisions to Policy 365, related to the selection of materials for our school libraries. 

These administrators, in their position and authority, reviewed, identified and determined that there were a number books in violation of Board policy 365.

I was not involved in the decision-making process. On October 18, I was provided with the list of books the administrative team deemed to be out of compliance with our policy. With that being said, I am in full support of what was done.

SECOND, this is NOT about banning books. It is about compliance with our District’s Policy and Procedure 365. Policy and Procedure 365 sets a standard for content in the materials available in the District’s school libraries. It is based on age/grade appropriateness with the focus on limiting material with sexually explicit content and profanity, which is based, in part, on State Statute 948.11, "Exposing a child to harmful material or harmful descriptions or narrations". 

It is defined as "any explicit and detailed description or narrative of sexual excitement, sexually explicit conduct...that is harmful to children." It asks if the content "is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for children."

If an average citizen were to violate this state statute, it would be considered a Class 1 felony. 

Some books designated for removal contain graphic scenes of child rape, incest, and obscene sexual activity. Children are reading this content, and many are doing so without parental knowledge.

So how are we, as a District, in compliance with state statute to protect children when we have books in our school libraries that contain almost 670 expletives, 400 of which are f-bombs and many others, or books that contain sexually graphic and explicit excerpts?

How is it age appropriate for our students? 

*If these sexually graphic comments were spoken in the workplace, would this not be considered sexual harassment? 

*If a stranger walked up to your child in a public place and read these unedited excerpts to him or her, would you not call the police? 

*If a book containing graphic pictures of sexual positions was in a hospital waiting room, would there not be complaints of its appropriateness?

The decision to remove the books from the school library was made to protect our students from this harmful material and protect our District from being in violation with our own Board policies. Books selected in our school libraries in the past, even though such books may have received awards, did not adhere to Board policies, then and now.

It is the District's duty to provide materials that comply with our Board policies, whatever personal opinions one may have about the books. The routine process of reviewing the books and determining to remove such books from our school libraries is consistent with the operating procedures of our District professionals. Hundreds of books are weeded and removed each year. Last year in the 22-23 school year, it was almost 1,500 books.

A former superintendent had said, "It is within the scope of our district and staff's authority to remove books from circulation. It is done regularly, based on the condition of the books, the changing of the needs of the library, space constraints, and appropriateness."

Previous administrations and administrators have exercised their authority and used a similar process to remove books. In recent years, books with graphic content were removed from the library collection in the same manner. So, how is this time any different?

No one is preventing individuals from having access to these books or to read them; they are free to purchase them at a bookstore and check them out at the public library.

However, in a school district and educational setting, WE are responsible for making decisions in the best interest of children. We have a code of conduct and a dress code in our schools to establish basic standards for our students. So, why would it not apply to materials that students are exposed to, especially when there are rules and regulations that govern these guidelines?

I will finish with a quote from Corrie Ten Boom, author of the book, The Hiding Place. Her quote is in reference to understanding that children are not adults. It is very apropos to this situation. 

We are asking our children to carry loads that are way too heavy for them. They should not be forced, as children, to see and feel the world through the lens of adults. Innocence is worth protecting and worth fighting for. We need to do our part as teachers, parents and caregivers to carry certain things for them until they are old enough to bear the load."