ASHLAND — Ashland City Schools’ Board of Education appointed longtime county employee Barb Queer to the Ashland Public Library Board of Trustees at a packed work session on Tuesday.
Queer’s appointment came just eight days after the divided school board voted against reinstating current trustee Stefanie Hunn over the library’s handling of an ongoing book controversy.
Over the summer, parents, pastors and community members asked the library trustees to remove or relocate certain books about periods, sex, and puberty that they considered inappropriate for children. The trustees did not remove any books and only relocated one that was improperly sectioned for youth.
Two school board members expressed disappointment with the trustees’ handling of the controversy after voting against Hunn last week, whose position will now be filled by Queer starting Jan. 1.
When reached by phone, Hunn declined to comment.
Queer, a retired county employee who currently serves on the Ashland City Schools Foundation board, said she is against censorship but believes the library trustees could have compromised with community members concerned about the books.
“The books (could have been) moved to an area where maybe parents had to have approval, or at least the parents would have to retrieve the books for the kids if they wanted them,” said Queer, who was not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.
“It’s sort of like videos or DVDs or whatever that are rated PG or PG-13, a parent has to be involved with a child checking that out.”
The school board received three resumes to fill Hunn’s role, and school board president Zack Truax chose Queer because he believed her appointment would pass unanimously and that she would be a positive force at the library, he said.
The board voted 4-0 to appoint Queer, with board member Brandon Wells, who criticized the board for failing to reappoint Hunn, abstaining.
Dozens of community members attended Tuesday’s meeting, and a handful spoke during the sometimes-contentious public comment portion of the meeting.
One audience member, Benjamin Bowman — who said he supports removing the library trustees that refused to relocate the controversial books — was cut off by Truax after he called Wells “an immature, spoiled brat”.
“The same person that ran last week’s meeting is running this week’s meeting. We’re not gonna have personal attacks. If it’s a personal attack, sit down,” Truax said.
Another audience member, retiree Dennis Dyer, said he was concerned that the school board rejected Hunn to replace her with someone that aligned with some of the board members’ negative opinions on the trustees’ handling of the controversy.
In response, board member Pam Mowry, who voted against Hunn last week, referenced feedback she had received from the community.
“By and large the feedback that all of us received, if we’re being honest, would be 50 to one or 100 to one in favor of doing what we just did, which is reappointing someone we see as excellent to the board,” she said.
The president of the library board, Sandra Tunnell, was also at Tuesday’s meeting. She said she looks forward to working with Queer, but was disappointed that Hunn became a “scapegoat” for the book controversy.
“I absolutely appreciate the concern people have against the books, but the library board is a lot more than books,” Tunnell said. “We make sure (the library) is an attractive, safe, welcoming place to be, and that there are programs that are fully staffed, and we have been doing this the entire time (Hunn) was on the board.”
