.jpg)
The Lexington School Board voted to revise its policy on the acquisition of, and complaints about, library and instructional materials at its May meeting.
The change approved last week applies to one of the steps in the appeal process for challenged materials.
Formerly, the policy read: “The complainant may appeal the decision to the superintendent or superintendent’s designee and, if the complainant disagrees with the superintendent’s decision, may appeal to the school board.”
This has now been altered to: “The complainant may appeal the decision to the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee, and if the superintendent agrees with the review committee’s decision, the decision is final. If the superintendent does not agree with the review committee’s decision, the final decision will be made by the school board.”
“I recently read through the policy, and I think that there were so many policies and there were so many details of it that we were trying to get exactly right that I think that some things slipped through the cracks,” School Board member Kate Shester said at the meeting.
“But when I was just recently reading the policies, what I realized is that what the policy actually said was that if the superintendent agrees with the review committee, that the School Board could then disagree with both of them,” she said.
“I think it’s so dangerous when the School Board tries to kind of overturn and micromanage decisions where all of our trusted employees are all together.”
Michael Saunders opposed the change, explaining that he felt it would reduce the power principals and the superintendent have in the review process.
“I think we’re just appropriating authority,” he said. “That’s my fear — is that we strip them of the authority but ask them to take the responsibility, make wise decisions for an entire school, but, they disagree with [the process], and we’re not going to affirm them on if they’re making the right decision on not.”
Sandra Hayslette argued that the revised policy would provide more support to the principals and superintendent.
“If that is the basic principle that we’re working on, because we believe that more professional minds in this are better than fewer, then I actually think it’s a wise decision. It’s a gesture of, we’ve got your back, and we will take the heat,” she said.
The Board voted 3-1 in favor of the change, one member being absent.
Shester said that this change was not made in response anything currently going through the review process.
“I want to emphasize, me finding this is not a reaction to anything that has happened; it’s not a reaction to a decision; it’s not personal,” she said.
Superintendent Rebecca Walters told The News-Gazette that four books been reviewed by the committee since the new policy was adopted in December of 2023, and said that “so far, the process has gone very smoothly.”
