D20 planning to introduce a Middle School Library Review Committee following months of division

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - In a D20 School Board meeting last week, Superintendent Jinger Haberer reviewed preliminary plans to form a Middle School Library Review Committee following months of controversial discourse about book banning in the district.

"I see the topic of library books being a real opportunity for us to bring members of, especially our parents together around a topic that can be divisive," Haberer said in the meeting.

The Library Review Committee would be comprised of 20 middle school parents in the district, and five district staff members or teachers.

The group would review books deemed controversial and be able to vote on which ones should stay in the district's libraries as a whole.

What their votes would amount to in terms of authority remains to be determined. In a statement released to KRDO13, D20 explained that they are working through the details of what the board would look like.

"The Superintendent and Board of Education announced preliminary plans to convene a Middle School Library Review Committee comprised of staff and middle school parent community members. We are gathering feedback from our stakeholders, including principals and librarians, before finalizing our proposal. The plan is not yet final, but once it is, the district will announce how it intends to move forward."

Academy District 20

D20 parent Erin Stevens doesn't see the purpose of the board at all, given that the district already has policies surrounding book banning.

"I think that the biggest controversies probably surrounding the fact that we already have policies in place in the district for the whole book approval process," Stevens said. "We also have librarians that work in every school, and they have been trained to stock our libraries with books that are good for all students."

Right now, parents can choose which books they're okay with their kids checking out, or keep their kids from going in the school library entirely. There is also a process that people can go through to ban books nationwide, which is complex and can be expensive.

"You have to buy the book for everybody. You have to take the time to read it. Teachers are taking time out of their day or they're extra it's extra work for them at night.  So it's an expensive and laborious process," Stevens said.