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Wide public backlash at Harford County school board meeting after removal of Flamer from libraries

Board of Education of Harford County (Harford County Public Schools) · September 8, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Dozens of residents, librarians and students urged the Harford County Board of Education to reinstate the novel Flamer after the board removed it from school libraries; commenters said librarians and the reconsideration committee recommended retention, while others supported the board’s age-appropriateness concerns.

Dozens of Harford County residents told the Board of Education on Sept. 8 that the board should reverse its decision to remove the novel Flamer from school libraries.

Speakers at the meeting — including parents, retired librarians, teachers and students — repeatedly said the school system’s library professionals and the appointed reconsideration committee had recommended keeping the book in high school collections. ‘‘Librarians already agreed that it belongs in high school collections based on professional reviews and grade-level guidelines,’’ said Caitlin Hurley, a Harford County librarian speaking virtually. Multiple in-person speakers said the board ignored that committee’s recommendation.

Several commenters tied the…

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