Harford County public commenters press board to restore 'Flamer' and expand curriculum access
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Summary
Public commenters at the Harford County Board of Education meeting on Oct. 6 urged the board to reverse a local library removal and to give parents and board members increased access to curriculum materials; one board member vowed to pursue greater transparency.
HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — Members of the public told the Harford County Board of Education on Oct. 6 that the district should reverse a recent removal of the book Flamer and improve access to curriculum materials for parents and board members.
Several commenters described concerns about library content and curriculum oversight. David Bauer said statewide MCAP results can reflect test difficulty and district course-placement choices, and urged reviewers to consider other benchmarks such as the NAEP and SAT. "When we look into the MCAP data in detail, we see that our county is clearly doing better than the state average in English language arts," Bauer said.
Two speakers specifically asked the board to reconsider the removal of Flamer. Loretta Vitouse called the removal ‘‘a First Amendment’’ issue and argued the district’s reconsideration committee — not ad hoc action — should determine whether a book remains in school libraries. "Generally speaking, based in the First Amendment, the freedom to read is essential to our democracy," Vitouse said.
Other commenters framed the concern differently. Christina Linoka invoked religious objections and urged parents to withdraw students from the district, asserting children "are being exposed to pornographic drawings" and referencing a book she called Flame Room that she said contained explicit material. "We do need God back in our schools," Linoka said. Her remarks also included a claim that some parents and board members are barred from accessing curriculum and lesson plans.
Board members addressed the public comments during member remarks. Board member Mr. Korn pressed for broader access to Canvas and curriculum materials, saying that without "complete transparency" parents and board members cannot give or withhold informed consent. He referenced a "Mahmood decision" in describing the threshold for religious objections and said he would pursue additional transparency, through the board or other avenues.
The board did not take any formal action on library policy or curriculum access at the meeting. Several speakers asked the board to bring a formal library-materials policy to a future agenda; the district will need to schedule and process that item before any change in practice.
The district’s public-comment rules were reiterated at the start of the meeting: three minutes per speaker with a bell at 30 seconds remaining.
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 27, 2025, at 6 p.m.
