After weeks of scrutiny over books from state officials, the Hillsborough County School Board continued to face backlash during a five-hour long meeting from community members over how they handled the issue.
During a meeting Tuesday, the board also approved without any discussion that its chief academic officer would be moved to an executive officer for professional standards in human resources.
The officer, Colleen Faucett, had worked for the district for more than 30 years, as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and district-level administrator. The move came after calls for her removal in the midst of the state’s crackdown on the district and superintendent, who received letters from top state officials and a later demand from the state Board of Education to immediately remove a list of 57 books they said contained inappropriate content.
At the state board meeting earlier this month, where board members threatened criminal charges against school board members and media specialists, district superintendent Van Ayres pledged responsibility to the state.
“I can assure you, moving forward, I have this handled,” he said. “When it came to my attention. I took care of it and I took care of it immediately.”
But at a school board meeting days before that, some members of the board called for more accountability at lower levels in the district.
Board member Patti Rendon called for better documentation of processes while board member Lynn Gray called on Faucett specifically.
“The individual who should also be addressed is our chief academic officer who oversees the media oversight and curriculum,” Gray said. “This staff member has not yet taken responsibility for the lack of DOE book oversight as it pertains to (state) statutes.”
Gray said Faucett had advised the superintendent to tell media specialists the same day the district received the letter from the state to remove and then review more than 600 additional books.
“This has resulted in media specialists demolishing their school site libraries, which include books by Stephen King, some of the classics, and many books which reflect the diversity of our student body.
“I want to know when we’re getting intimidating letters and Superintendent Van Ayres, you’re getting intimidating letters, why isn’t the one person responsible?” she said in early June. “Why hasn’t that person been either removed or (faced) some type of accountability?”
But while board members who were initially critical of Ayres’ quick response to state officials without more consultation, some supported him in the aftermath.
At the school board meeting Tuesday, Ayres and the board were lambasted by parents, students, former teachers, a librarian and even residents of other counties for what one parent called “capitulation” to the State Board of Education’s demands to remove more books.
Rachel Doyle, the parent, called the instant willingness to meet the state’s demands “a breathtaking Olympic-level display of cowardice and disregard for the parents that you are supposed to serve.”
Marie Masferrer, a librarian, expressed disappointment in the district’s stance.
“You have the most educated and highly certified staff in the state of Florida,” she said. “There’s a reason Hillsborough County is on so many state boards. Our librarians are on the board for the next BC Specialist Certification test, which is now under review.”
She said because of their decisions to pull books, others across the state are following and their actions violate state laws which call for districts to set policy.
“We know our rights, and that is why we did not fold and feel we stood up for our students,” she said.
Gregory Ross, who traveled from Brevard County, called on the the board and superintendent to “do the right thing.”
“I understand that’s a tough decision you’re put in,” he said. “…I think we should be talking about what your responsibility is as elected leaders, right? …You need to show courage, you need to show strength. …You need to be publicly speaking out against this. Speak week after week after week. …They can smell it. They can see what’s coming, right? You guys are what’s here to stop it.”
Erin Quinn, a teacher, said she worried about keeping a library in her classroom but ensured it followed all protocol to make sure her student had access to books and wished the district was willing to take on the same risk.
“We have district policies in place so that parents have the right to consent to what their kids read,” she said. “The Florida Department of Education is overreaching, and I know that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our superintendent and every school board member, because one of the things I thought about as a teacher is, if I get fired, who will be here for my kids?”
But though the board and superintendent sparred earlier in the month, board members stood behind Ayres in an emotional discussion that largely touched on the death of Gwen Henderson, former city council woman and owner of Black English Books, who they proposed to name a media center after.
“I was very disappointed by the type of way you were treated at the State Board of Education,” board member Nadia Combs said to Ayres. “I think it’s really sad when we are looking at you, our students are looking for adults to model behavior, and the type of behavior and the way that people talk to you and treated you as a human being…. I expect better from the Florida Department of Education, and if that expects me to be removed because I expect respect for our superintendent, so be it.”
Board chair Jessica Vaughn said she was “shocked and frankly appalled” by the meeting where state board members called school board members and media specialists as “child abusers.”
“It’s not just false, it’s dangerous,” she said. “They are not criminals. They are educators. And this kind of rhetoric doesn’t exist in a vacuum. At a time when political violence is rising and a state representative was just assassinated in Minnesota, reckless language is dangerous. This is not a game. These are real people. These are our staff, our neighbors, our community, and they deserve support and protection, not persecution.”