HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent was grilled in front of the State Board of Education in Miami on Wednesday, stemming from a back-and-forth over books.
“I can assure you that our process moving forward will be tightened up to ensure that this does not happen again,” said Superintendent Van Ayres.
In May, the Education Commissioner sent a letter to Ayres over “inappropriate materials available to students in district libraries.”
Then, the Florida Attorney General doubled down in a letter to the Hillsborough School Board, stating certain materials are “unquestionably pornographic in nature.”
“We’re not talking about censorship. We’re not talking about banning books,” one person remarked during public comment at a Hillsborough School Board meeting this week. “We’re talking about making sure age-appropriate materials are in front of students that are struggling.”
In response, six books mentioned in the letters were immediately removed.
About 600 additional books flagged on reporting lists in other counties from previous school years were also put under review and made unavailable to students if they were in school libraries.
The issue was raised during a meeting earlier this week by both Hillsborough School Board members and community members.
“You did not engage with parents. You did not engage with our PTA. You did not engage with the union. You did not engage with your employees. You did not engage with your supervisors, or your lead librarians, and I was not informed at all,” School Board member Nadia Combs said during a meeting on Monday.
On Wednesday, Superintendent Ayres took heat and answered questions from the State Board of Education.
“This board, as you know, has zero tolerance for pornographic materials in our schools,” said State Board member Ben Gibson.
“This is a moment for you to step up as Superintendent and say I don’t care what the board says. I don’t care what some loud-mouthed folks in community are going to say about this. I’m going to do the right thing for those students because that’s your job as Superintendent,” said State Board member Ryan Petty.
The Superintendent also made this point clear.
“No inappropriate material will be in front of our students in Hillsborough County Public Schools when that school year starts up next year,” said Ayres.
Clearwater Senior Condo owners still waiting for elevator to return to service 5 months later
Residents at "On Top of the World" senior condominium have been forced to live without a functioning elevator for more than four months. The latest notice posted on the elevator stated that it would likely return to service on June 4, but by the end of the day, they were still left without service.
