A statement from Newtown Democratic Town Committee (DTC) leaders released to The Newtown Bee May 31 notes that they do not “condone the disruptions or insults” at a May 16 Board of Education meeting, and calls an accusation by the Republican Town Committee (RTC) that the Democrats “chose a display of vile aggression and hostility” at the meeting, “completely inaccurate.”

The local Democrats’ statement comes in response to a statement released by the RTC last week concerning attendees’ behavior at the BOE meeting in question where challenges to Blankets and Flamer, two books in the Newtown High School Library, were being discussed. The dueling statements are part of an escalating war of words between the two parties over the book challenges.

The statement was signed by the DTC’s leadership, Chairman Alex Villamil, Vice-Chairman Clinton DePaolo, Secretary Michelle Embree Ku, Treasurer John Fletcher, and Deputy Treasurer Eric Paradis.

The statement reads: “The Republican Town Committee shared its perspective on the front page of The Bee regarding the Board of Education meeting on May 16. Using inflammatory language that was high on hyperbole and extremely low on facts, the RTC presented a fictional portrayal of the situation regarding the book bans and the role of the Newtown Democratic Town Committee. Rather than acknowledge that their championing of an unpopular move to ban books at Newtown High School is out of touch with the general will of this town, the RTC leadership, while feigning shock over the behavior of a very few townspeople, attempted to reroute the narrative by making unsubstantiated and highly charged claims against the Newtown DTC.

“Claims about how the DTC was politicizing this issue, and not wanting the DTC to be involved. Could it be because it was members of the RTC who filed the challenges to begin with? While Democratic Town Committee members made up a small fraction of the audience, and we certainly do not speak for the other 200+ people in attendance, the Republican Town Committee made some accusations about the DTC that must be addressed.

“The DTC has been and remains committed to maintaining an environment of respectful conversations and does not condone the disruptions or insults in the May 16 meeting. While verbal outbursts from a small portion of people interrupted the Board’s discussion for brief periods, generally there were no more disruptions than recent P&Z meetings regarding a warehouse application.

“Also, the DTC is not aware of any credible reports of actual or threatened violence, but we would reject any such behavior. To say that the DTC chose a ‘display of vile aggression and hostility rarely, if ever, seen in our town towards volunteer BOE members,’ is completely inaccurate.”

The statement continues, “The DTC fully supports the constitutionally protected right of the public to peacefully assemble, rally, and protest. The DTC is just one of several groups supporting the district’s staff and students on this subject, and represents just a fraction of the people writing letters and attending meetings.

“While the Republican Town Committee would like to paint this issue as a Democrat-versus-Republican one, the people speaking up are Democrats (including non-DTC members), unaffiliated, and Republican. Incidentally, we cannot prevent non-residents from attending a rally, just as Republicans cannot prevent non-residents from attending other town board meetings on other topics.

“Regarding ‘compromise’ by Democratic vs Republican members of the BOE: this is a clear issue. The BOE’s own Special Review Committee, including the High School Principal, unanimously voted to maintain the two challenged books for High School students.

“The majority of educator, student, and resident comments support maintaining the books in the High School. The Republicans are encouraging Board overreach into personal family reading choices. And the books have been taken out of the school library just twice in 15 years. So they are clearly not harming anyone, and these objections are therefore clearly influenced from non-local forces such as Moms for Liberty.

“On the question of keeping these books in the library, Democratic BOE members are justified in completely supporting the appointed professionals’ decision, as well as the majority of public opinion — compromise is not advisable for this First Amendment question.”

The statement concludes, “Regardless of party affiliation, Board of Education members represent all of us. Each of them has heard from the public. They have had time to research. It is time to make a decision.”

In a May 31 interview with The Newtown Bee, BOE Chairman Deborra Zukowski, a Republican, said the behavior of the crowds at the meeting “is recorded and available.”

She also said the Republican members of the Board “were trying hard to find a compromise that both honors the Special Review Committee’s recommendation and that tries to address the core concerns of some of our parents.” She expressed hope that the BOE’s planned special meeting on June 1 would be the “final meeting on the subject.”

The Bee also reached out to RTC Chairman William DeRosa but did not receive a response before press time.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.