Central York school board votes unanimously to rescind book ban: 'It has taken far too long'

Shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, about 200 people gathered in the grassy lot across the street from the Central York School District administration building to demand that the school board rescind its nearly year-long ban on a list of books intended to teach diversity.  

About three hours later, they had their answer. 

The board voted unanimously to rescind the ban and reinstate the books immediately.  

See the banned book list:These are the books and other resources banned by the Central York School Board

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Just a week ago, the board indicated that it would refuse to reverse its decision – setting off more protests and attracting national media attention. The story of the suburban York County school district banning books was featured in large metropolitan newspapers and on major cable news networks, a fact noted by more than one speaker who commented, via Zoom, on the board’s decision prior to the vote. 

“You guys have taken a lot of heat tonight,” said Nathan Grove, a 2000 graduate of Central York. “But you’ve accomplished something. CNN’s Don Lemon and Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade agreed on something. They both said banning books is wrong. You’re bringing the country together.” 

Parents and alumni expressed their displeasure with the board, calling the ban “disgusting,” “unethical” and “immoral.” One, a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant, evoked the era of Jim Crow. Several called on the board to resign. 

One commenter offered a defense for banning a couple of the books on what was called the “Diversity Resource List.” The woman, a parent in the district named Christina Hardesty, said she did not object to benign books, such as “Who is Rosa Parks?” and “Who is Jesse Owens?”, but she did object to others that she believed teach critical race theory and promote socialism and communism.  

Another supporter of removing books from the list, Jennifer Hyman, said the books were a “smokescreen” to indoctrinating students in critical race theory.  She accused the former superintendent, Michael Snell, of trying to introduce a critical race theory takeover in the district. She urged those listening to “educate themselves about critical race theory” and to be vigilant of “radicals within our ranks.”  

“Make sure what you’re blindly ushering in,” she said. 

Critical race theory, according to the American Bar Association, is not aligned with diversity training. It is a more than 40-year-old legal theory that holds that race is a social construct embedded in legal systems and policies, as Education Week reported.  

“A good example is when, in the 1930s, government officials literally drew lines around areas deemed poor financial risks, often explicitly due to the racial composition of inhabitants,” Education Week reported. “Banks subsequently refused to offer mortgages to Black people in those areas.” 

Students speak out:Book ban by Central York school board of racial justice materials spurs student protests

The board, in a statement read as the meeting convened, believes it’s all been a misunderstanding. Reading the statement, Board President Jane Johnson said the board’s action on Nov. 9, 2020, was merely a “freeze” on the list of books and was not intended to be a ban. She said none of the books were removed from school libraries. The board, she said, had intended to review the list of books “expeditiously,” but “it didn’t happen.” 

“It has taken far too long,” she said. 

Board member, Tim Strickler, said the list was “frozen” before he joined the board in February and that he did not object to most of the books on the list. A couple of them, he said, did trouble him and he said the “toxic divisiveness” caused by the issue was the antithesis of the teachings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Board member Vickie Guth said the committee that came up with the list did not have the authority to create curriculum. “We had no idea where these items came from,” she said. 

Another board member, Kyle King, said the board policy was not a ban and that the board’s decision to “freeze” the list while reviewing it was not carried out quickly enough. “I am not a supporter of banning books and would not support a ban on books,” he said. The board intended to conduct a “concise review” of the list and “we didn’t do it, and for that I sincerely apologize.” 

“We did not approach this as the priority it deserved to be,” King said. 

Marie Damiano, a former school board member, called the board’s statement “clever and creative.” 

“And it’s very, very sneaky,” she told the board. “And it’s not transparent. This was a ban on books.” 

She concluded, “This board has a problem with anybody and anything that is different from them.” 

Other speakers on the Zoom meeting said the issue went beyond banning books, saying that the all-white board representing a district whose student body is 32 percent minority has “a history of opposing diversity,” according to one speaker. Three speakers – in order to adhere with the three-minute time limit on comments – tag-teamed to list a timeline of anti-diversity statements and actions taken by the board dating to May 2018.

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Lori Biser, a parent of two children who attend Central Schools, said the board wanted to “whitewash diversity.” 

Sean Hightower, the retired Army Sergeant First Class, said, “I don’t understand what you guys are trying to accomplish. ... How is what you guys are doing not unethical and immoral?” 

Among those who commented on the policy was Brad Metzler, the author of a dozen best-selling thrillers, including “The Lincoln Conspiracy” and “The Book of Lies.”  

He has also authored a series of biographies for children, including illustrated books about Rosa Parks and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  

Metzler, who lives in South Florida, learned of the ban by watching CNN and spoke out about it. He began his comments saying, “It’s been a rough week for you guys.” 

He pivoted, later, to say, “Of course, by banning books, you’re on the wrong side of history.” 

More:Community outraged after Central York School Board members oppose anti-racism curriculum

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a Daily Record staffer since 1982.