WCS adds another book to mature reading list

The Wilson Post made an Open Records Request to the school district on Nov. 29, 2022, to receive details about the ethics complaints. That request has not yet been filled.

The school district’s book review committee had recommended to keep “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky in the library at Green Hill, Mt. Juliet, Lebanon and Wilson Central high schools. Placing the book on the mature reading list – making it available for student checkout only with parental permission — was part of the committee’s recommendation.

At the public comments part of the meeting prior to the vote, members of the public both in favor of and opposed to removing books from school libraries read passages from the book.

Charlie, the 15-year-old main character of the book, begins writing letters about not taking own life to an unknown recipient addressed, “dear friend.” In those letters, he discusses his freshman year of high school and his struggles with the suicide of his only middle-school friend and the death of his favorite aunt.

The board originally voted 5-2 to keep the book in the school libraries without restrictions. However, an amendment was made to keep the book and also to place it on the mature reading list. The vote on the amendment was 5-1-1 with Dr. Beth Meyer voting “no” and Joseph Padilla abstaining from the vote. Meyer said she was rejecting the content of the book because there were no consequences of the main character’s actions.

“I read the book,” Meyer said. “I don’t make any recommendation unless I’ve read the book in its entirety. I’ve had a number of my students buried because of something they read or watched a movie. They engaged in it and there were no do-overs.”

The recommended minimum ages to read the book are 12-16, according to Dr. Jennifer Cothron, deputy director of academics for WCS.

Ethics committee process

Jennings told the board that it needed procedures in place when voting on ethics complaints.

“These (procedures) are offered as a goal of consistency, fairness and guidance to those filing a complaint, those defending a complaint, community interest and the media,” Jennings told the board.

He added that he is responsible for the delay in addressing the ethics complaints (a committee meeting scheduled in December was postponed) because he wanted to ensure the committee had procedures. He said he will take the recommendations from the board and create a formal procedural document.

“There’s no restriction on anybody filing a complaint against anyone in government,” Jennings said, adding the procedures were necessary because, “you can’t let it be a Wild West shootout.”

The steering committee will be comprised of the ethics committee chair and two employees from the district’s central office.