The Rocky Point School District Board of Education met on Thursday, July 28, to address a matter that has sparked a debate of extreme intensity. The meeting, which took place in the auditorium of Rocky Point High School, was called to address a decision made by the board in early July to end the practice of accepting book donations from the public.
The issue centers around a book donation made in June by Allison Villafane, a parent in the district. During Pride Month, Villafane had donated books that explored sexuality, race, and gender. Villafane argues the books she donated were best sellers, approved by the library in the district, and were thought to be spread out amongst the different schools according to age appropriateness. Villafane’s intentions were to “promote diversity, equity and inclusion,” as she stated to the board.
Villafane shared seven titles that were included in her donation:
• Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
• All Different and Beautiful: A Children’s Book about Diversity, Kindness and Friendships by Belle Belrose
• Our Diversity Makes Us Stronger: Social Emotional Books for Kids about Diversity and Kindness by Elizabeth Cole
• Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
• The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson
• Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman
• The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
The board noted their decision was not taken lightly. All five members had come to an agreement that was motivated by basic lack of expertise.
“None of us – the five of us on the board- are experts in children’s literature, “said Jessica Ward, president of the district’s Board of Education. “None of us has a master’s degree in library science.. so we thought it would be best for all of our schools to allow our librarians, who are the experts in children’s literature, to populate their libraries and their catalogs with books of their choosing.”
Villafane, who has donated in the past, argues the books donated were already in circulation throughout libraries in the district and she was just making these books even more accessible. Upon the board’s decision, Villafane asked if the same standard would apply to donations that included “pianos, keyboards and trumpets.”
Ward responded by confirming the board’s decision “wasn’t necessarily in response to the books that you donated. It was in response to all books.”
Many in the community criticized the board’s decision. “If it was just a change in practice, then they did it very badly,” said Ernestine Franco, a Sound Beach resident. “That’s what makes me think it was a political move. Even if they wanted to do what they did, there had to be some logic to it and there wasn’t.”
Others responded more favorably to the board’s decision.
“I think that the decision was the correct one because not everyone agrees with all of the books,” said an individual identified as “Ms. Sarlo. “There are so many more important things that we need to be talking about that the board could be spending time on instead of book donations.”
The Rocky Point Board of Education is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, August 29 at 7 p.m.
