To the Editor:

I’m disappointed in The Newtown Bee’s moralizing. Aren’t there untold furies in all directions displayed at other public meetings on topics of strong engagement? The Board of Ed vote over book challenges should have been decided a month ago but the BOE majority decided to delay the vote another two weeks which then required even further extension, understandably, with the tragic passing of Mrs Ramsey.

Citizens get hot and bothered by infringements of rights and listening to Board of Ed members embracing off-ramps to the 1st Amendment. Respectfully, no amount of praying from a BOE member’s minister dad will alter that. Change the Amendment from 1st to 2nd and see what that does for public reaction.

Severe public criticism is a given when setting an astounding precedent for book banning in Newtown which Ms Zukowski, Ms Larkin and Ms Kuzma’s votes from the 5/16 BOE meeting represent. Even though the motion failed, they put themselves on record to remove books from the high school. They are volunteers with outsized power to censor what they personally and politically dislike in the name of “community standards” and they are using it against their own educators and superintendent’s expertise.

What revisions will be made to the BOE book removal policy with the majority vote? All to placate a group of objectors who cut and pasted their forms claiming reading these books may cause “poor coping skills, emotional disturbance, poor boundaries and sexual misdemeanors.”

I’m disappointed with The Newtown Bee indulging the enablers of this thinking. Chastising public anger is convenient focus away from the greater affront regarding the intolerant thinking on challenge forms that runs only deep enough to copy each other’s answers and yet binds our district’s reputation to it for the long haul.

The theme of public belligerence promoted by this editorial contributes to the same theatrics of “we’re being bullied” and “don’t feel safe” that was amply draped over Ms Kuzma, Ms Larkin and Mr Ramsey’s candidacy and now, the objectors, to try to explain why they are so outnumbered.

How will this victimhood affect the decision-making and transparency of board majority as they revise the book removal policy? I expect this theme to loom large as pretext for whatever happens at the next BOE meeting.

Newtown Bee, you’ve helped put this train on the track.

Barbara Wojcik

Sandy Hook