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 — shut down in March and to identify replacement review resources.

Board members and staff said the existing parental permission process is a primary safeguard: students may only participate in book-club selections if parents return an opt-in permission slip. Curriculum committee chair Melanie Ergot told the board the committee will recommend alternative review sites and that the policy committee will take up thresholds and definitions on Aug. 19 before returning recommendations to the full board.

Public comment prefaced the discussion. Resident Jody (Jodi) Guinan told the board she and a fellow community member found Booklooks listed on district forms despite the site’s closure and recommended alternatives such as RatedBooks.com and PluggedIn.com as replacement reviewers; she asked that any reference to Booklooks include a clear note that the site is no longer operational.

Board members discussed multiple factors in deciding the two titles: whether the books appear on college or AP reading lists, the honors-level context, and parental choice. Board member Melanie Ergot said she would not support offering books with explicit sexual content or profanity in school; other members said offering titles only as optional book-club selections with parental opt-in preserves choice for families and teachers.

The motions and roll-call outcomes were recorded in the meeting. The board asked staff to (1) update permission forms to indicate that Booklooks is no longer in operation, (2) recommend replacement review websites to include on forms, and (3) bring proposed policy clarifications about grade-level thresholds back to the policy committee on Aug. 19 and subsequently to the full board.

The board’s curriculum committee had already discussed the two titles in a meeting on Aug. 5 and provided the full board with a scene-by-scene breakdown and explanations prepared by staff to help members decide.

Next steps in the district’s process include policy-committee review of thresholds and definitions, possible updates to the permission slip, and further guidance for teachers and families on how book-club selections are presented to students.

Votes at a glance: The Glass Castle — approved 5–1 for honors 9 book club. The Color Purple — approved 4–2 for honors English II (10th grade). The district will not place either title into required curriculum; both remain optional with parental opt-in.

The board will continue policy discussions on Aug. 19 and return other process recommendations to the full board before future book-list updates.