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Resigning district librarian, staff unions and community members urge board to reinstate BrainPOP, restore anti-racism resolution
Summary
During patron comments multiple speakers urged the newly seated board to engage librarians, reinstate the district subscription to BrainPOP and revisit the removal of the resolution against racism and discrimination. A librarian said the previous board's actions prioritized adult beliefs over student access and led her to leave the district.
Several public commenters and staff representatives used the district public-comment period Thursday to urge the Board of Education to restore curricular and library resources and to re-examine a previously removed resolution against racism and discrimination.
Felicia Hines Thapa, a library media specialist at Independence Elementary, said she is leaving the district after eight years and accused recent leadership of actions that "fostered inequality and exclusion," including removing librarians from the book challenge committee and discontinuing the district's BrainPOP subscription without consulting librarians. Thapa said the previous board's approach "prioritiz[ed] the personal beliefs of adult community members over the needs and rights of students to access diverse age-appropriate literature." She said she was seeking a new district to work in that better matched her values.
Other speakers, including Chris Hyman and Harry Harris, urged the new board to meet with librarians, listen to staff concerns, and move toward restoring BrainPOP and the resolution against racism and discrimination. Several speakers said they had petitioned for the resolution's return and noted it had been removed about 637 days earlier; they called for a community process to accompany any reinstatement.
Union and staff groups spoke on related issues. Francine Hill, president of the Francis Howell Education Association (FHEA), welcomed the new board members and called for collaborative work to address staff concerns and to pursue a restoration of the removed resolution. Tracy Edelen, vice president of the interpreters association (GISPA), also urged the district to act on a building-odor problem at Francis Howell North, saying staff members had missed work because of headaches and other symptoms.
Why it matters: commenters framed these issues as matters of student access, staff morale and district transparency. Several asked for direct consultation with librarians and staff to guide any changes.
Board response and next steps: multiple board members acknowledged the comments and asked administration to consult librarians and assemble feedback. President Blair said the board would review options for a forum or retreat to discuss the resolution against racism and discrimination; staff said they would begin the process of gathering librarian feedback for the board to consider at an upcoming meeting.
Ending: Public commenters asked the board to prioritize communication and to restore lost trust through inclusive community engagement and policy review.
