School Board Addresses Public Concern Over Library Books
- Terri Carter
- Nov 19
- 3 min read
The Franklin County Board of Education held their regular session monthly meeting earlier this month at the Franklin County Board of Education building. Highlights of the meeting included public input from a concerned community member regarding books in the library and policy language revisions and additions.
Franklin County resident and published children’s author Christina Soontornvat attended the meeting, offering public input regarding the books that had been pulled from library circulation. She voiced concerns over an article she had read in The Tennessean that stated that the Franklin County School System had removed 58 books from their libraries.
“This was not in response to complaints from parents or the community, but because of a fear of being in compliance with Tennessee state law, which is the Age-Appropriate Materials Act.”, stated Soontornvat.
The community member continued by stating that the law had recently been amended to include what she referred to as “vague language”. She stated that the new language prohibits schools from having any books that have sexual content, nudity, or excess violence.
“The way the law is worded makes it really hard to determine what that is.”, said Soontornvat. “It’s had a huge impact all over the state. And Franklin County is not the only county to be removing books.”
Some examples she used included Knox County, who removed 48 books, Rutherford County removed 150 books, and Monroe County removed 574 books. She also stated that the Wilson County High School Principal had advised his teachers to go ahead and remove their classroom libraries so not to run a foul with the law.
“This is just the definition of a slippery slope, and you can see how this kind of fear and vagueness can lead to the removal and censorship of so many books that our kids need to be able to read.”, stated Soontornvat. “Books like 'The Iliad'. You can see how this language could even apply to The Bible. Some of the books removed were books like 'Calvin and Hobbs' and 'The Magic Treehouse'.”
Soontornvat ended her time at the podium by asking the board for a list of the books that had been removed from circulation. The board agreed to publish the list of books on the Franklin County Board of Education’s website and clarified that the removed titles had not been discarded but were still being stored within the school building.
During the New Business portion of the meeting, the board approved several updates to existing policies. Dr. Roger Alsup noted that all School Board policies are currently aligned with Tennessee State Board of Education requirements. Revisions included expanded language to emphasize academics and fine arts programs, as well as the addition of a goal related to extracurricular activities. The board also adopted a new policy outlining procedures for accepting applications from charter schools. Although Franklin County does not currently have any charter schools, the policy was implemented to ensure compliance with state law.
During the financial report, the school board voted and approved to receive and file September and October Inter-Category Amendments, the October financial and monthly reports, and the November budget amendments.
Continuing with the Athletic Report, Kent Bean highlighted local athletes and gave updates regarding ongoing or completed projects. Spotlighted athletes included North Middle School Eighth grader Amirykal Johnson, South Middle School Eighth grader Abbey Repass, Huntland Middle School Sixth grader Mia Burks, Huntland High School Senior Kingston Maxwell, and Franklin County High School Senior Na’Kayjah Holman.
The State Testing discussion reported that the 2025-2026 school year goals for the district included reaching state average proficiency in the third through fifth grade ELA and Math classes, continuing to increase proficiency in sixth through 12th grade with a focus on United States History and Math, supporting teachers in curriculum implementation, collaborative planning, standards alignment, and intervention, and moving all schools into at least a category of “C” on school report cards.
Project updates reported that the roof had been completed at Rock Creek Elementary School, the revitalization of the Annex Fieldhouse has begun, and room identification signs have been added over the doors at Clark Memorial, South Middle, Broadview and Sewanee Schools.
Dr. Roger Alsup reported during the personnel and employment status discussion that all certified positions throughout the district have been filled.
The next regular session Franklin County School Board meeting will take place on December 8th at 6:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Break for the district will be November 24th through November 28th.
