NEWS

Cape's board abolishes entire reading list

Leigh Giangreco

The Cape Henlopen School District's summer reading list for incoming high school freshmen will not include the controversial book, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post," – or any other book.

The district school board voted 6-1 on Thursday night to return to the district's previous summer reading requirements, which demand college preparatory students read one book for the summer and honors students read two books.

Cape parent Celeste Metcalfe supported the decision to eliminate the entire reading list.

Only board member Noble Prettyman voted against the motion on Thursday. Freshman board member Alison Meyer had earlier expressed support to restore the original list but voted for the final motion.

"This was the only way we could make each side somewhat happy," she said.

The board removed the book, which features foul language and a main character who is gay, from the list in June. Six board members cited the book's foul language, not sexual orientation, as the reason behind their vote.

The board's decision may also avoid action from the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, which urged the board to overturn the June decision.

The ACLU argued the board had not properly notified the public before it voted to remove the book and could be violating both Delaware sunshine laws and the district's own policy.

While it's easy for the board to delete items from its agenda during a meeting, it is limited in its ability to add them, said Dave Williams, the district's legal counsel,

"You can take items off but you're so limited in adding items," he said. "It really doesn't work on the other side of the coin."

Thursday's meeting stirred up the board and brought ire from the public.

Board member Sandi Minard took offense at accusations that her decision in June was based on the book's content, rather than its language.

At one point, she began reading excerpts of the book featuring explicit language.

"This board's character has been judged, its integrity has been judged," she said. "It's up to the board to select material that is age appropriate. We're responsible for setting boundaries."

Members of the public were split on the board's final decision.

Rob Spicer, whose son, Matt, graduated from Cape Henlopen High School in 2013 and identifies as a gay alumnus, called the decision "a copout."

"The administrators did their job and provided a diverse list," he said. "The school board abdicated their responsibility, because the heat in the kitchen was too hot for them."

While Matt Spicer compared "Cameron Post" to "To Kill a Mockingbird," which also deals with rape, other members of the public argued the book's scenes were too graphic for 14-year-old readers.

Celeste Metcalfe, who wrote the original letter to the board concerning the summer reading list, applauded the board's decision on Thursday.

Cape parent Celeste Metcalfe supported the board's decision to remove the reading list. Metcalfe agreed with board member Andy Lewis, who suggested a policy for reviewing books.

"We have PG-13 movies and we need to have PG-13 books," she said.

Contact Leigh Giangreco at lgiangrec@dmg.gannett.com or on Twitter @LeighGiangreco