The Board of Education voted unanimously during a June 1 special meeting to keep the graphic novels Flamer and Blankets in circulation in the Newtown High School library. All remaining board members — three Democrats and two Republicans — reached consensus following the May 31 resignation of Republican members Janet Kuzma and Jennifer Larkin.

The motion to retain the books, which passed following more than a month of growing debate among the public and the board following the recommendation of a special review committee, came with an addendum. The books were to remain, “provided that the administration develops a process to address individual or parent guardian concerns related to their children.”

The topic was first raised in March by parents who believe Flamer, Curato’s semi-autobiographical account of enduring homophobic bullying and self-discovery, is pornographic in content and unsuitable for all school age levels. Craig Thompson's autobiographical Blankets was added into the conversation soon after.

Alison Plante, the board member who initiated the motion at the meeting Thursday night, said it the board's motion will preserve access to the books at the NHS library “for the vast majority of children to access freely.”

She then detailed the caveat.

“This solution asks the administration to implement the process that will support the choices of individual parents and guardians to make individual choices for their own children by charging our administrators with designing and implementing a more robust process,” she said.

In response to a concern from Board Member Dan Cruson, Plante clarified the books would not be taken off a shelf if a process in the clause was developed “quickly enough.”

The initial read of the motion opened discussion from the board.

Plante said she would have preferred to simply vote to accept the special committee’s recommendation.

On May 2, a special review committee made up of the district assistant superintendent and four Newtown High School administrators, including its principal, told the BOE that both books are appropriate for the high school library and should remain there.

But since that motion failed on a 3-3 tie vote at the Board of Educations's next meeting, on May 16, it could not be reintroduced due to board policy.

Plante said she believes the solution proposed on June 1 does “the most good for the most people” and “does not put the district at risk for litigation.” She said it shows the BOE can follow its own policies, respect our experts, serve all constituents, and understand its responsibilities.

“And critically,” Plante added, “the limitations of our responsibilities.”

Plante said she was concerned restrictions placed on the books would be operational in nature, and not in the board’s purview.

“Our administrators are in the driver’s seat,” she said of the motion's clause.

During the preamble to the vote, board members took opportunities to thank those involved including as Superintendent of Schools Chris Melillo, Assistant Superintendent Anne Uberti, educators, parents, and students.

Board member John Vouros thanked a specific “concerned parent” who had spoken with Uberti “at length two weeks ago” and accepted his invitation to breakfast. He said the parent subsequently wrote to the board on May 23 “to end what was polarizing and potentially destroying our community.”

“In my opinion, she became a pivotal voice,” said Vouros.

Vouros said charging the administration with the motion will instill comfort in many parents and himself. He said their work “will be done with fidelity and will encompass the thoughts of many professionals and parents, and will deliver an actionable plan to the board.”

Visiting The Libraries

BOE members had visited the library since their last meeting. They said numerous students approached the board members, asking them to directly observe the current usage of those amenities at the high school and middle school.

According to Plante in her initial statement, Vouros went to the school libraries “every day for a week and a half.”

Board Chair Deborra Zukowski and member Donald Ramsey — the two remaining GOP members — each expressed gratitude for their observational visits to the library, crediting them as very influential experiences. Ramsey said he was re-educated on “what really goes on in a library,” adding the professionalism and competency of teachers in the libraries is “second to none.”

He added he “must lean against” logic from those who correlate their expertise with absolute correctness. He said nobody is infallible, and it is important to be “careful with overgeneralizations or narratives” that could potentially harm reputations. Ramsey cited this as a reason for the issue “morphing” into one with “quite a bit of community tension.”

Ramsey said he would vote in favor of the motion with the caveat.

“This is the kind of dialogue the board of education should have. It should be a problem-solving persuasive approach as opposed to a politically motivated power-driven approach,” he said.

Zukowski said going into the high school and middle school libraries was “absolutely fabulous” and credited Andrew SanAngelo and Liza Zandonella for her experience.

“Just by using the Destiny system — no more reading of book jackets, no more ‘thumbing through’ to find out what the content might be,” said Zukowski, referencing the internet system Newtown students use to search for books.

The idea of students "thumbing through" the controversial works and accidentally being exposed to the objected content was voiced as a concern by Ramsey in a previous meeting.

Zukowski said tools and practices had changed. She said seeing that at work helped her understand what youth do now in libraries is “totally different” than what her children did.

The chair discussed knowing children who were sexually abused and witnesses to trauma, and said seeing content in books reintroduce them to trauma. She also talked about her close friendship with an LGBTQ woman, and helping during a troubling time with her friend’s conservative parents.

“I know the value that the books bring, I know the trauma that the books may bring to some others, and this particular motion deals with both,” the chair said in reference to her experience.

In her final statement at the conclusion of Thursday's meeting, Zukowski again brought up her visits to the library, underlining their value.

“After my visits, I finally felt that we had enough information for us to work together and find a reasonable and workable outcome that would both honor the committee’s recommendation but also address the core concerns of the many members of our community," she said.

A Vote To Remember

At the conclusion of discussion, Plante reread the motion with the added clause and the vote was cast.

After observing all hands, Zukowski said “passes unanimously,” but missed her mic. The utterance, however, was clearly audible through the otherwise silent room. It seemed to resonate profoundly in what was at that moment the wake of months of prolonged tension and debates.

Cheers and applause promptly erupted. Zukowski then opened the opportunity for any board member to issue a closing statement before her own remark as chair.

Cruson spoke first, voicing his appreciation for the student engagement throughout the process. This recognition led to louder cheers.

“As a board member, I want to hear from the students,” he said. “I am thrilled that so many students were willing to stand in front of this table with nine adults to tell us what you thought.”

He hopes, he said, the engagement will continue for future issues.

In another comment, Cruson said his position on the issue all along has been his personal opinion. He added he read all letters and social media posts, as well as comments from the public.

Ramsey voiced his appreciation for what he metaphorized as a strong “triad” of parents, students, and educators in communication and said sometimes conflict brings people together.

He referenced “the sophistication” of the students “talking about their experiences and sharing that evening.” He urged the students to draw their parents into the process, to let their parents “visit their world.”

Ramsey addressed parents as well, telling them to “open that door” so their children know they have “an active interest in their education.” He said if parents do that in concert with good communication with educators and administrators, issues are often resolved at “the lowest level,” which doesn’t allow them to become “disproportionately difficult.”

Plante used her time to thank educators — teachers who spoke, library media specialists, and those who served on the special review committee.

Melillo thanked those who did and did not support the recommendation of the committee, because of the importance of diverse perspectives. He expressed that disagreements are part of democracy.

Melillo then thanked the students, saying “most importantly, they run the lesson. Most importantly, the children led.”

Melillo called for the Newtown community to work together so the students get what they need.

“There were some people hurt along the way, and we need to wrap our arms around them and we need to ensure that we are better together,” he said, adding that there is no room for disparaging opinions.

“It doesn’t help it, it doesn’t make me listen to you any harder,” said Melillo. “It’s okay to be emotional, but it’s not okay to put people down for their opinion whether it’s right or wrong.”

The superintendent said he listened to everyone across emails, messages, and took every phone call.

“I had to come to a decision that I felt was just. Whether you agree with it or not, I respect your opinion," he said, adding there is room to agree to disagree at the table.

In her comment, Uberti said it was "unfortunate this process unfolded the way it did."

The assistant superintendent said they are all still committed to listening to parents, and she noticed some dissatisfaction resulting from the clause in the motion. She says she sees the motion as an opportunity to continue to meet parents where they’re at and work with students and families to do what is best for everyone.

Addressing the students, she reminded them that they “live in a different place and a different world than many of your elders." She said she thinks there has been reflection for herself and the library media specialists for what they can do better.

“Maybe we need to be clearer about what things our kids are exposed to and why we offer those types of books so people understand the reason they’re there in the first place,” she said.

Uberti said the passed motion is a way to move forward and heal as a community.

Reassessing Process

In her statement, BOE Chair Zukowski began by explaining that once the process began, “board members were advised by the board’s legal council not to speak publicly about the matter. We could not address misinformation.

"Some real ridiculous things were said about members of this board. Unfortunately our lack of voice allowed the misinformation to grow and overwhelm our community’s public conversations,” she added.

Zukowski said the “false narrative” made working together as a board “much more difficult.” She also said the book challenge process form “included questions more appropriately addressed by library specialists.”

The chair also addressed the formation and work of the special review committee.

“The policy appeared to drain the work of the committee in terms of reaching out to others not on the committee, including the parents who had originally submitted the forms,” she said.

Zukowski said the committee was restricted to only two options: to either leave the books at the NHS library or to remove them. She called their recommendation “reasonable, although constrained” because of this limitation, and thanked their efforts and care for students.

The chair said the board’s May 2 meeting, which included the introduction of the special committee's report, was the first to provide voice to all parents in the broader community.

“Our goal was to understand how we might better support diverse family values and cultures in a manner that would be both workable and reasonable,” Zukowski said.

“Going forward, we need to leverage our experiences over the last two months to modernize an outdated and ambiguous policy and to design a book challenge process that helps all parties work more cooperatively and effectively," said the chair.

A better process, she said, will help the current and future boards learn that their differences “are not that large.” She then called for the community to “come together in the spirit of nicer in Newtown.”

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