Parent tells Portage board letter was 'intimidating' after raising concerns about The Breadwinner

A Portage parent, Katrina, addressed the board during public comment to describe her experience seeking reconsideration of the fifth-grade novel The Breadwinner.

Katrina said she followed district procedures: she emailed the principal on April 19, met with school officials on May 1, submitted a reconsideration form around May 26, and received a letter from an administrator on August 6. She told the board she then emailed the superintendent on August 8 requesting a meeting and, as of the board meeting, had not heard back.

On the record she criticized a passage in the August 6 letter that said, and she quoted the letter, "as your husband is a full time teacher and you are a substitute teacher within the Portage Public School District, we must conclude the reconsideration process at this stage." Katrina said that reference was "unprofessional" because her husband had not participated in the process, and she said it felt like an attempt to intimidate her. She also said she has worked as a substitute but is not a district employee, that she filed the form as a parent, and that many teachers had not had front-end opportunities to vet the new curriculum.

President Ben Antwerp asked Katrina if she had copies of her correspondence; Katrina said she brought email copies, and Jen Carson offered to scan and email them to the superintendent's office. The board did not take action on the book reconsideration at the meeting; Katrina asked the board to follow up on her concerns.