West Bend board approves two honors-level book-club titles, directs policy committee to refine process

The West Bend School District Board voted on two contested book-club titles and asked staff and the policy committee to tighten the district’s review and permission process.

At its meeting, the board approved The Glass Castle as an optional selection for honors ninth-grade book clubs, with a 5-1 vote, and later approved The Color Purple as an option for honors English II (typically taught in 10th grade), 4-2. Both approvals keep the selections optional and subject to the district’s parental permission system for book clubs.

The decisions followed several hours of discussion about how the district vets titles, what review resources should be listed on permission forms, and whether certain works should be limited to older students. The board and curriculum staff agreed to note that Booklooks — a review site listed on current permission forms…