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West Bend expands book-club permission form language and adds The Transall Saga to eighth-grade list
Summary
The West Bend School District curriculum committee agreed to clarify language on its book-club permission form and to add The Transall Saga to the eighth-grade book-club list after a content review that flagged limited violence but no obscene language; the title is already in the district collection so there is no added cost.
The West Bend School District curriculum committee on Aug. 5 agreed to add clearer language to its book-club permission documents and moved to include The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen on the district’s eighth-grade book-club list.
Committee members said the changes to the permission form are intended to make the district’s content thresholds — listed as “none,” “limited” and “some” by grade band — more explicit for families. Adrienne Schneider, program administrator, told the committee that the permission form will retain its current structure while gaining “updated clarifying language” on definitions used to rate titles for content.
Schneider said the eighth-grade team asked that The Transall Saga be added to the quarter‑1 list. The committee review found the title “did hit, with that limited in in some of the scenes for, the violence,” Schneider said, and noted the book contains “no ****** content, there’s no obscene language.” She added the title is already part of the district collection and therefore “adding it does not have a financial impact to the district.”
Board member Melanie Ergot said expanding clarity on the permission form is positive for families. The committee also discussed that an external review site referenced in older materials — the Booklooks website — went offline in March; members agreed the permission-form column referencing that site should be updated or removed.
The committee did not take a formal recorded vote during the meeting; staff said the addition follows the district’s existing review thresholds and that teachers will be notified so they can plan book-club selections. The revised permission form language and the updated quarter‑1 book list will move forward for inclusion in district materials and be shared with teachers and families.
The committee did not cite any change in budget or a required formal board vote for the addition. Staff said other elements of the district’s vetting process are under review in parallel with the policy committee’s upcoming discussion.
