When Karen Smith took her oath as the new president of the Central Bucks County, Pa., school board, she opted to forgo the Bible her colleagues used鈥攊nstead placing her hand on a stack of contested library books that had become a flashpoint in her reelection.
The move was a symbolic repudiation of the prior board鈥檚 priorities. It had made national headlines in recent years after a conservative majority passed a policy to review and restrict library books with 鈥渟exualized content.鈥� Critics of the policy said it would lead to a practical ban on some titles, including those that appeared in Smith鈥檚 stack at the Dec. 4 meeting.
Smith and her four newly elected Democratic colleagues had campaigned on changing course, and successfully flipped the nine-member board鈥檚 ideological majority in November. Soon after, it began rolling back some of the prior board鈥檚 policies.
The picture of Smith鈥檚 oath-taking has since circulated widely on social media and appeared in national news stories about national elections, school boards, and book challenges鈥攕howing how the quintessentially local nature of school board governance has taken on outsized prominence, a trend that shows few signs of stopping.
鈥淚t does seem like we鈥檝e seen some nationalization of education in recent years,鈥� said Vladimir Kogan, a professor of political science at Ohio State University who studies state and local government. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 new. The issues have just changed with the times.鈥�
Today鈥檚 book debates are much like debates over issues like teaching evolution from decades ago, he said, but they are more cleanly split along partisan lines.
For her part, Smith鈥檚 takeaway about the matter is simpler.
鈥淭he biggest thing that people can learn from us is that elections matter,鈥� she told Education Week. 鈥淵ou need to be watching very carefully who鈥檚 running for elections in your community, at your local level, because we have more impact than any other politician.鈥�
Board acts quickly on campaign promises
In districts elsewhere, which have faced similar debates in recent years, advocates on both sides of the issues have examined victories like Smith鈥檚, looking for signs of what鈥檚 to come in a divisive time in local politics.
Like other communities, Central Bucks County saw a slate of conservative candidates elected in 2021 with support from conservative activist groups like Moms for Liberty, which gained momentum over frustration from COVID-era school closures and sought to challenge how schools address issues like race, gender, sexuality, and politics. Other organizations seeking to recruit and support progressive candidates, have since launched school board-focused strategies to challenge that influence.
Central Bucks County鈥檚 previous, conservative-dominated board had also banned Pride Flags, tried to limit teachers鈥� 鈥渁dvocacy speech,鈥� and ultimately the district faced a
Smith and her colleagues were elected following a spirited campaign in which candidates on both sides spent a combined total of $600,000, half of which came from a local venture capitalist, the husband of one of the losing conservative candidates,
The newly elected board majority quickly acted on its campaign promises in that first December meeting by:
- Reversing a policy that prohibited transgender girls from playing on girls鈥� sports teams.
- Ending a policy that prohibited employees from using 鈥渟peech, conduct, or symbols to support or oppose a particular point of view or belief about partisan, political, or social policy issues or matters.鈥� That policy sparked protests over the removal of Pride flags.
- Ending a policy that prohibited textbooks and classroom materials with 鈥渟exualized content.鈥� Smith said that policy could be difficult to interpret and apply, even sparking concerns about materials for high school anatomy and physiology courses.
- Ending a policy that created a district-level 鈥渓ibrary supervisor鈥� and process to challenge books.
Members also unanimously voted to direct an attorney to investigate a $700,000 severance package the previous board had quickly approved for the district鈥檚 previous superintendent, who had sided with conservative members on some issues and quickly resigned after the November election.
Choosing a stack of frequently banned books
Before the new board鈥檚 first meeting, Smith messaged a group chat about taking her oath for another term. Because she鈥檚 not particularly religious, a friend suggested she place her hand 鈥渙n a stack of banned books.鈥�
Smith quickly thought of titles that were particularly meaningful to her. One of the first books she added to the stack was Night, a memoir of the Holocaust by survivor Elie Wiesel. That book stirred a controversy in Central Bucks County last school year when a high school librarian was flagged for 鈥渁dvocacy activities鈥� after he posted a quote from Wiesel鈥檚 Nobel Prize acceptance speech on a bulletin board.
鈥淚 swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation,鈥� that quote read. 鈥淲e must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.鈥�
A principal told the librarian to remove that quote, concerned it violated the policy, . He was later allowed to replace it following public outcry.
鈥淭his is America,鈥� Smith said about that incident. 鈥淲e were founded on principles of freedom: the freedom to express ourselves, the freedom of ideas. 69传媒 have rights, and our community values that. They also respect the professionalism of our librarians.鈥�
Other books in Smith鈥檚 stack had been flagged for removal under the now-suspended book review policy. They included The Bluest Eye, a story of childhood abuse by author Toni Morrison, and All Boys Aren鈥檛 Blue, a memoir by LGBTQ activist George M. Johnson. One of the books, Lily and Dunkin,seemed to have been flagged because it has a transgender character, not because it contains any graphic sexual language, Smith said.
Fox News and other conservative news outlets were , Flamer, a graphic novel that tells the story of a boy who is bullied at summer camp because of gay stereotypes, because it contains descriptions of sex and depictions of nudity.
Flamer was on the American Library Association鈥檚 list of most banned books in 2022. Smith said she became aware of the book when she attended a librarian conference and spoke to a non-binary who said reading it 鈥渟aved their life鈥� because it made them feel less alone.
鈥淚 was kind of stunned and speechless hearing them say that,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭hose are very powerful words.鈥�
Smith believes it鈥檚 important for students to recognize their own experiences in books. While Flamer may help students experiencing harassment for their sexuality, The Bluest Eye may help teens recognize and confront experiences with sexual assault.
It鈥檚 understandable that some parents may not want their children to read some materials for religious or other reasons, Smith said. When she is approached with such concerns, Smith said she assures constituents that the books in question are only available to older students and that parents can individually flag materials they don鈥檛 want their children to check out.
鈥淚 totally support parents,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚f there are parents who have concerns about a book, then the mechanism exists for them to express that concern and to prevent their own child from reading that book. But they shouldn鈥檛 be allowed to prevent all kids from reading it.鈥�
Education debates grow more partisan
The partisan tone on the Central Bucks school board has become more pronounced in recent years, said Smith, who is in her ninth year on the board and registered as a Republican when she was first elected.
There have been divisive arguments centered on education for decades, including clashes over prayer in schools and school choice, said Kogan. But those debates have fallen more distinctly along partisan lines in recent years, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really Democrats versus Republicans fighting over critical race theory, fighting over library books,鈥� Kogan said.
And those debates have been amplified by the rise of social media, he said. Which explains why school boards in different states have simultaneously discussed the removal of very similar lists of library books flagged by concerned interest groups.
Smith said her party allegiance began to fray when she differed with conservative colleagues about issues like masking and the district鈥檚 COVID-19 response. When national coverage of issues like race and gender trickled into local politics, she decided to switch parties.
She grew frustrated when community members approached her with cable news stories about critical race theory, concerned that local schools were 鈥渢elling white kids it鈥檚 not OK to be white.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 literally standing here in front of these people at the polls and saying, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 not true,鈥欌�� Smith said. 鈥淵ou know I鈥檓 your neighbor. I鈥檓 your local representative. I鈥檓 telling you that doesn鈥檛 happen here, and you鈥檙e not believing me.鈥�
A year before the presidential election, political commentators have watched high-profile school board races for signs of how messages about parents鈥� rights, classroom content, and the direction of education might play up-ticket in 2024. While former President Donald Trump has championed teaching 鈥淎merican exceptionalism,鈥� President Joe Biden has focused on issues like student mental health and civil rights.
Those debates played out on a smaller scale in districts like Central Bucks County and others that have attracted national attention from political candidates.
School boards that have dealt with sharp divisions in recent years may struggle to put the toothpaste back in the tube because there will always be new debates emerging, Kogan said. But 鈥渄oubling down鈥� on academic improvement following the pandemic may be one way to refocus.
鈥淓verybody agrees that students should be able to read, and everybody agrees that students should be able to do math,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are different ideas about how to teach that, but those are consensus areas.鈥�
