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Hillsborough County Superintendent Van Ayres faced fierce backlash from the school board at Monday night’s meeting.
It’s because of how he handled the controversial decision to pull 600 books from school libraries.
Hillsborough County School Superintendent Van Ayres received a letter from the State Attorney General asking for a handful of books to be removed that the AG claimed were “unquestionably pornographic.”
A response from the school board attorney says the superintendent removed those titles but also “made unavailable to students” 600 books referenced in past years.
School Board member Nadia Combs said she was disappointed and concerned about that process.
“You did not engage with parents, you did not engage with our PTA, you did not engage with the union, you did not engage with your employees, you did not engage with your supervisors or your lead librarians. And I was not informed at all,” Combs said.
Ayres defended his decision.
“Could I have done that? Absolutely, and I’ve stated that. I just wanted to be decisive in my action, I’ll learn from that, but I still feel like the decision I made was the best decision for the students of Hillsborough County to ensure that we have no inappropriate materials in our libraries,” Ayres said.
Members of the public, like Gianny Hunt, a veteran, spoke during public comment.
“It is deeply concerning to see book bans gaining traction in the United States, echoing the same suppression I have seen in war-ravaged nations controlled by authoritarianism,” Hunt said.
Public comment during the meeting was mostly supportive of the bans.
On Wednesday, Ayres is set to meet with state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz.
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