Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Van Ayres defended how his district has removed inappropriate books from school libraries at a state Board of Education meeting Wednesday.
Ayres said books flagged by state officials were promptly removed from shelves and he would tighten the annual review process of materials.
The discussion comes amid an ongoing crackdown on material found in Florida's school libraries. Thousands of books that were deemed inappropriate have been pulled from shelves. This is being done in accordance with a 2023 state law requiring the removal of any book challenged for sexual content while it is reviewed.
In May, Ayres received a pair of letters calling for the removal of six inappropriate or, in some cases, pornographic books.
Ayres said those books were immediately removed and he placed an additional 57 books under review.
Those 57 books are in addition to a list of around 600 books flagged by the state Department of Education since 2022.
Ayres said these books will be reviewed by the end of summer, and his media specialists will be given a stipend to do it beyond their contracted hours. That will cost the district roughly $345,000.
“We are utilizing our media specialists over the summer. We are giving them a stipend,” Ayres said. “When that school year starts, I want to be assured that there’s absolutely zero, none, zero inappropriate material in our libraries.”
But board Chair Ben Gibson said those books should not be under review and potentially end back on shelves. Instead, he asked for Ayres’ commitment to immediately and permanently pull those.
“That is something I am able to do,” Ayres said.
Board members were concerned about why these books remained on the shelves after last year’s review by school librarians, who Ayres called the first line of defense.
“Have you considered firing all your media specialists and starting from scratch with women and men who can read?” board member Kelly Garcia asked.
Ayres replied by reiterating his trust for school librarians, saying 95% are certified media specialists.
Garcia said a certification is not enough.
Board member Daniel Foganholi also blamed school board members for pressuring Ayres to conduct an ineffective review.
During the Hillsborough County Schools Board meeting Monday, member Lynn Gray said book removal is also the responsibility of the chief academic officer, who is in charge of media oversight. Gray said the officer has not taken responsibility for the lack of Department of Education book oversight.
The chief academic officer did not respond to requests for comment.
Parents of Hillsborough students also shared concerns Monday over materials being found in school libraries.
Parent Julie Gebhards expressed her shock and horror in reading "The Bluest Eye," an assigned book for her daughter when she attended Newsome High School. She said the book described a “pedophile playing with little girls.”
Gebhards’ daughter Camdyn said she “had no voice and no idea that what they were handed [in school] was horrible.”
“Do you seriously think that handing literal pornography to minors prepares students for life?” Camdyn Gebhards asked the Hillsborough board.
At the state meeting, Ayres said he had not received any community complaints that would have prompted a review of books parents find problematic.
Board member Marylynn Magar said the website that includes all books in Hillsborough school libraries is too confusing for parents to review.
On Monday, parent Trisha Long called for more transparency in the “secretive review process” that determines which books are being removed.
“I want to see an open and fair review process that involves the community and I want to understand what is being called pornographic in this context,” Long said.
