The district’s library policy once again received attention at this month’s Columbia School Board meeting, with the board also discussing progress on high school expansion and some policy matters as the academic year winds down.

Prior to regular session, a reorganizational board meeting was conducted, with recently re-elected members Andrea Khoury, Tyson Search, Adam Hemken and Greg Meyer sworn in once again.

Like the elections that took place at the start of April, the officer elections among the board resulted in more of the same with Meyer appointed president, Lisa Schumacher as vice president, Search as secretary, Kimberly Johnson as recording secretary and Mark Janssen as Treasurer.

The regular meeting began with two individuals offering public comment, expressing additional thoughts from comments offered last month focusing on the district’s rejection of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights several months ago.

As previously reported, this bill of rights is primarily a set of guidelines for libraries mainly concerning censorship and features several items emphasizing that materials shouldn’t be excluded from a library based on origin, background or views of the creator; libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view and they should challenge censorship as they pursue their goal of providing information.

Adoption and adherence to these guidelines was made mandatory for libraries seeking state funding by a law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2023.

The Columbia School Board passed an Instruction Library Media Policy in January, striking the part of the policy about adhering to ALA guidelines. At the time, it was indicated this decision came as the board wished to provide the district more local control and discretion when it comes to school library content and policy.

Members of the public packed into the meeting room last month in response to this decision, speaking against it and emphasizing the importance of the bill of rights when it comes to ensuring student access to a variety of books.

Individuals likewise offered criticism of a separate board decision to shift away from in-person Scholastic book fairs.

The two who spoke at Thursday’s meeting echoed sentiments expressed in March, with Sarah Clarke returning to reiterate points she brought up previously.

A parent of two young students in the district, Clarke asked the board to reconsider its decision on the ALA Bill of Rights, speaking to the organization’s status by noting how ALA accreditation is the “gold standard” for those working in libraries.

With the board declaring a vacancy for a district librarian as part of the consent agenda at the very start of this meeting, Clarke voiced her support of this decision – though she added that recruiting and retaining a librarian will likely prove difficult without the protections and guidelines the bill of rights would provide.

Clarke further noted there is a difference between the bill of rights and the 2023 law, seeming to reference the conflation of the two made by Meyer at the March meeting as he referred to the bill of rights as “partisan.”

“These principles are not extreme,” Clarke said. “They shouldn’t be political. They are foundational to education and intellectual freedom.”

The other member of the public to speak was Brandon Champion, whose wife spoke at the last meeting as she presented a letter written by him.

Also a parent in the district, Champion reiterated the importance of representation in library content, with children needing to see themselves in the books they read.

As he did in the March letter, he referred to his experience working in healthcare and “dealing with the aftermath of children not being recognized, not being appreciated.”

Champion critiqued the board for the apparent indifference he saw as parents spoke at last month’s meeting before stressing again the importance of children seeing themselves in the books they read.

“I want every one of these kids to feel that they are seen, that they are heard,” Champion said. “The only people that can help in that situation right now are the ones right here in this room that can take away or reinstate the ALA.”

The board continued with the meeting after public comment, though Meyer offered a response as part of the board president’s prerogative item at the end of the meeting.

He reiterated much of what he said in March, saying the board agrees with the recent speakers on far more than they disagree. Meyer also again emphasized the district has never banned a book.

“We are big advocates for books,” Meyer said. “Currently, I’m more familiar with the high school library because we’ve been doing the (expansion) project, and my opinion is that’s a very under-utilized room, and we need to improve it. One of the main reasons we didn’t accept this policy is because we don’t have the procedures or a librarian to put it in place. Tonight we approved (a vacancy for) a librarian, so we’re taking steps in the right direction.”

Along with the library discussion, a major topic addressed by the board was progress being made with construction at Columbia High School, with Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode noting a recent administrative and faculty walkthrough and the speed at which things seem to be coming together.

“It’s moving fast,” Grode said. “We are still on tap to have the fence down, parking in front and be able go in through the front doors and have the administrative offices in August, with December being about when we would get the classrooms and the auditorium.”

Schumacher remarked on how she got a much better perspective of the progress seeing things up close, and Hemken expressed his appreciation for CHS staff and students for dealing with parking and noise disruptions throughout the construction.

“This last month of school is gonna be a bit hectic,” Hemken said. “It’s gonna be like a beehive up there. But that’s the price of progress, as they say. Thanks to the staff and students at the high school for their flexibility. It doesn’t come without disruption.”

Action items addressed and approved by the board included meeting dates for the next year, the consolidated district plan – Grode clarified the plan is effectively a letter to the Illinois State Board of Education saying the district will agree with federal and state guidelines for grants – and the continuation of the current athletic trainer agreement.

Action was also taken on high school scoreboards as the board recently opted to get replacements from the newly Columbia-located Digital Scoreboards.

As two action items, the board tabled a five-year deal with the business regarding ad sales – Hemken raised concerns about getting particulars regarding revenue sharing between Digital Scoreboards and the district – and approved the sale of the current outdoor scoreboard.

The board also approved a set of policies which contained some notable items including the possibility of having some CHS student representation on the school board.

Additionally, the board adopted a new social studies curriculum, with Assistant Superintendent of Schools Amanda Ganey having offered a brief overview of the newly decided textbooks during her monthly report.

“I know I say consistency and continuity is extremely important with instruction, but this is going to also support that continuity with social studies and also help our ELA progression as well in the district with the reading components that come with the social studies,” Ganey said.

Previously in the meeting, Ganey also noted in her report that state testing was over and only suffered a few hiccups, and with social studies sorted for the time being, she and other curriculum coordinators are currently considering the ELA curriculum.

Grode, in his report, remarked on how the school year is suddenly coming to a close with a number of recent banquets and other events recognizing student achievements.

He also spoke about looking into a discrepancy regarding power usage at Columbia Middle School, a matter which has been discussed by the board previously.

“We’ve talked before about our electrical cost at the middle school,” Grode said. “We’re starting to compile all of the kilowatt-hours we’re doing per month because Chris Schulte, our new HVAC guy, has been on for about half a year, and he’s finding a lot of reprogrammings, things where we’ve heated it up and then cooling it down. Hopefully the middle school is starting to see that the temperatures in the classrooms are a little bit more solid, but we’re hoping that we’re actually gonna starting seeing some improvements in those kilowatt-hours.”