Rockingham County board keeps several challenged books but removes one after content-review

The Rockingham County School Board on July 8 voted on multiple library-content recommendations from its content-review committee, retaining several titles but removing one after committee review.

Dr. Oliver, the assistant superintendent, brought the recommendations to the board after the content-review committee completed its work. The superintendent had recommended retaining several titles "as presented," and board members debated whether to consider The Kite Runner and My Friend Dahmer together or separately. Chair Cross said he would vote against the combined motion because of material in My Friend Dahmer but was "okay with Kite Runner going back into the school" if it is read with an adult present.

Miss Lohr moved to amend the pending motion to remove The Kite Runner so each book could be considered on its own; the amendment passed unanimously. The board then voted to retain My Friend Dahmer by roll call: Miss Lohr — Yes; Miss Hurst — Yes; Miss Cave — No; Miss Burgoyne — Yes; Chair Cross — No. The motion passed 3-2.

Board members then voted separately to retain The Kite Runner as recommended by the superintendent; the motion passed (vote tally not specified in the transcript). Dr. Oliver later presented additional recommendations: the board voted to retain Eleanor & Park by Raina Telgemeier by unanimous voice vote and to retain Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, with one member abstaining because she had not finished the book (the motion was recorded as passing with three yes votes and one abstention).

Dr. Oliver also recommended removal of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas because the content-review committee determined it contained explicit material as defined by RCPS policy IIABA; the board approved that removal 5-0.

The board’s discussion and public comment included concerns about context, where explicit passages appear in a book and whether a title’s literary value warrants retention. Several public commenters emphasized that the context of a passage matters: Mike Stempel told the board that "one of the hallmarks of a fascist regime is the censorship and banning of various media, including books," arguing for broad access. Others, including community members who asked for clearer information about content-review committees, urged transparency about committee membership and process.

Next steps noted in the meeting: administrators will implement the board’s directions and continue the content-review process under district policy. The board did not announce further changes to the committee structure at this meeting.