UPDATE: This report was updated at 5:30 pm May 11 to correct the time of a rally scheduled at the Municipal Center prior to the next Board of Education meeting. That rally begins at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, May 16.

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After residents in an overflow crowd hoping to attend a May 2 Board of Education meeting were forced to an adjacent area in the municipal center, and were asked to view the meeting being concurrently streamed on their own mobile devices, Chair Deborra Zukowski has made accommodations for the next scheduled school board session May 16.

Following the latest session, Zukowski told The Newtown Bee that she met with Fire Marshal Rich Frampton and will be able to reconfigure the council chambers to accommodate 90 attendees in the room. She will additionally establish at least one overflow room that will be equipped to simulcast the meeting audio and video to those who arrive too late to be inside the council room.

The unusually strong turnout at the May 2 session, and anticipated turnout for the May 16 session, are tied to the school board’s ongoing deliberation and planned decision on whether to honor or reject a unanimous recommendation by a district special committee to retain two books — Flamer and Blankets — within the Newtown High School library.

The school board’s decision to force overflow attendees out of the main meeting room, and requesting them to view a streaming version on their own devices from outside — versus stopping and/or postponing the May 2 meeting — appears to be a violation of the Connecticut Freedom of Information statutes, according to commission spokesperson Thomas Hennick, who responded to an inquiry by The Newtown Bee on May 4.

Hennick said it is incumbent on the board to anticipate the need for overflow accommodations, and to make remote electronic access to that meeting available before convening.

Attendees arriving for the May 16 meeting will likely be met with supporters hoping the board will retain the two books, as members of Newtown Democratic Town Committee are planning a rally prior to the meeting at 5:30 outside the municipal center to show support for the review committee and its unanimous recommendation to retain the books.

Besides those who advocated for the removal of the reading materials in question, and whose comments were summarized in the May 5 edition of The Bee, and online at newtownbee.com, five students, five library media specialists, and one educator addressed the board in support of retaining the books along with Superintendent of Schools Chris Melillo and Assistant Superintendent Anne Uberti.

They were joined by a number of other attendees, including those who were invited in from the overflow space.

‘Snowball Effect’

Young people at the meeting again did not choose to use the reserved time at the beginning of the public participation in order to speak, and instead elected to speak in the wider pool of adult participants.

“These sort of books saved my life,” said Beatrice Cardamone, a sophomore at NHS who identified herself in the meeting as a transgender girl. She explained she found books before coming out, during a time of anxiety and isolation, where she read about people like her that were respected.

Two Newtown Middle School students and another NHS student spoke in support of the works, as well, citing the need for solidarity and diverse perspectives.

“Banning books with LGBTQ characters or harmless sexual references would lead to a snowball effect,” said Joseph Crosby, a Newtown High School student.

He added that book challengers are “upset that gay characters are finally making it onto the shelves.

“If they claim that is not the case, then why has no motion been filed to remove Mein Kampf from the high school?” said Crosby.

Later in the meeting, an adult community member referenced this question, and seemed to agree with Crosby’s idea of a snowball effect.

Dan Grossman, who identified himself as a president of a Jewish DEI initiative in a multinational company, called consequences of removal of certain books “leading to christo-fascism.”

“Mein Kampf is on the shelves. As a Jew, and as a DEI Jew, I say keep it on the shelves,” said Grossman.

Grossman continued that the books he read growing up didn’t make him a certain way, but made him understand all people from different perspectives he didn’t get from his family. He added that plenty of people find the Bible objectionable, and referenced the use of slurs in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, another book that remains on library shelves.”

Specialist Voices

Four English teachers from NHS and five representatives from school libraries throughout the district participated in the meeting.

Sarah Beier, who works at the circulation desk at Reed Intermediate School, voiced her support for the consensus of the review committee that the books should be kept and expressed frustration that the vote was to be postponed. She cited the board’s unanimous approvals for 31 policy recommendations made to the board by subcommittees since the beginning of the year, where they “wisely heeded the voice of the experts.”

Library media specialists Sara Wasley, also from Reed, Beth Murphy from Head O’ Meadow School, Suzanne Hurley from Middle Gate School, and Andrew SanAngelo from NMS, spoke about the treatment of those in their profession online by Newtown book challengers.

The specialists talked about what they collectively describe as demonstrations of disrespect made by book challengers online to their professional knowledge and personhood. Murphy said the debate is “detracting from the good that happens daily” as a result of teacher work.

These online postings included accusations of “negligence and incompetence,” according to Hurley. She said school librarians “spend hours scouring various professional publications and state award lists for books that will provide mirrors and windows into our world.”

“What I find more appalling than any picture in a book is disdainful, degrading, dishonest and disrespectful behavior by some towards me and my colleagues,” said Wasley, later adding “Books won’t damage their minds the way poor modeling ever will.”

Hurley said the role of educators and parents is not to ban books “under the guise of removing inappropriate materials” in order to “protect teens and young adults from the world.” She said it was not only a disservice, but insulting to students “to assume they cannot hold true to their own convictions and beliefs when confronted with differing viewpoints and/or experiences.

Wasley and SanAngelo both talked about initiating conversation instead of turning to discussing online or anonymously.

SanAngelo said it was shocking to learn that people are saying he was “putting the safety and welfare of students at risk or bringing pornography into the school,” according to online sources.

“No one spoke to me, no one emailed me, no one asked me any questions,” said SanAngelo, who continued, saying book challengers should pursue a conversation with library professionals to create mutual understanding.

“I am eager and welcoming to educational and insightful dialogue regarding books and information, it’s truly my life’s work,” said Wasley, who called for a return of civility instead of anonymity afforded by the internet.

Superintendent Statements

Uberti presented the special review committee’s report about the challenged books, which included reasons for their consensus that the books should stay at the NHS library. She also discussed her personal feelings in a statement to address public concerns about books in the libraries besides the current two in question.

She said while book criteria for libraries is vague, specialists take their job seriously, are open to removing materials that don’t belong on the library shelves, and have “a deep commitment to the core values of librarianship and the freedom to read.”

The assistant superintendent expressed that her opinions on these book challenges had “evolved” since the process began, and regardless of what is decided about Flamer and Blankets, she believes there needs to be a path forward together that includes compromise.

Uberti noted there were three more books being objected to at the high school, and said she fears that without compromise, the “cycle” will continue. She has met with library media specialists “to explore ways to address the concerns of both sides.”

According to Uberti, “any path forward must be in consideration of first amendment rights,” and “perhaps the most amenable solution” may be for parents to submit a list of books to restrict their children from checking out.

She said to move forward with the steps of her proposal would take some time because of other work to be done pertaining to teaching and learning, and she hopes the community will come together to put an end to the controversy.

“What a wonderful example that would be for our kids: to show them that adults can disagree, but through the sharing of differing opinions and respectful listening, we can find common ground," Uberti said.

Melillo, like Uberti, also said he changed his mind about the books when he read and “evaluated them holistically,” explaining he made a mistake in viewing content out of context. The superintendent said he understands how some may object to how the important messages of the book are delivered.

Melillo reviewed the definition of “en loco parentis” common law, how it translates, and how he has “an almost visceral reaction” to it as a parent “perfectly responsible and capable of instilling morals and values” in his children.

He said there are times when activities in the school conflict with families’ core values and beliefs, yet families are allowed to decide how to handle such situations. Melillo gave examples such as participating in the Pledge of Allegiance, school Halloween celebrations, and serving lunch in cafeterias during Ramadan — all of which may conflict with religious beliefs.

“We can’t have it both ways,” said Melillo. “When something fits into your beliefs, everything else must conform, but when it doesn’t, take it away from everyone else.”

“When everyone is sitting, you teach your children to stand up,” said Melillo, as an alternative. “When everyone is standing, you teach your children to stand out. And when everyone is standing out, you teach your children to be the standard.”

“Isn’t that what we want for our children? To distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad, promoting rational thinking and unbiased judgment,” he continued.

Melillo said removing books from the school library may satisfy the interests of some but at the expense of access for all others, which he called “a broad-brush approach to en loco parentis” that could lead to discussions about topics other than books.

The superintendent said there is a lot of room for variety in family values despite common beliefs like “peace” and “integrity,” making it impossible to create a consensus. After his statement, he recommended the Board of Education to uphold the special committee’s recommendation to keep the books in the media center.

For our initial coverage of this meeting, refer to “Board Of Education Taking More Time To Consider Book Challenges.”

Editor John Voket contributed to this report.

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Reporter Noelle Veillette can be reached at noelle@thebee.com.