This is a warning to the Duval County School Board: You are in a heap of trouble.
By allowing the school district to stonewall on the task of cleaning up the school libraries, you have aroused the ire of local activist Blake Harper.
Harper plans to begin attending all board meetings and urging board members to do what they were elected to do.
That includes policing the library shelves. Harper objects to plans for what he calls a “leviathan” committee of 17 people to screen books.
The attention is just what Duval needs. Nearby Clay County’s children and families are fortunate to have a champion. Bruce Friedman steadfastly refuses to allow inappropriate material to be made available in schools without a fight.
For years, Friedman has read books used in government schools and complained to the school board at public meetings about books that are unfit for children. As a result of his efforts, and a new state law, more than 600 books have been withdrawn from circulation.
Many of those same books are believed to be available to students in Duval. It isn’t only pornography. Pro-liberal, anti-American propaganda also is in the mix.
This issue is big – big enough to be heard this week by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Parental rights organizations such as Moms for Liberty have complained about the situation but have taken little action.
But Harper, like Friedman, is indefatigable when he latches onto a cause.
His ability to protect children will be limited by the stupid law that allows only one book complaint per month per person.
But Eye on Jacksonville expects that Harper will begin to be a constant presence at board meetings, as he is at City Council meetings.
Keeping the heat on the politicians is the only way to ensure they will keep the heat on the school administration, which clearly is dragging its feet and not making a reasonable attempt to protect children.
Eye asked a month ago for information on the number of books, challenges and action taken but has not received answers. This is the case even though the administration usually is helpful and reasonably quick in providing information.
It is possible that the subject matter is a factor in the alacrity with which they respond. On another occasion, |Eye asked for information about teachers charged with sex offenses. It took three months to get an answer and then they charged us $100 for the information, which was outlandish.
Another excuse for doing nothing is “lack of resources.” That won’t fly. No resources are required. Stop buying books or accepting donations (a clever way to dodge the law) and let the books pile up until they can be vetted. There is plenty of material in the libraries already.
Local organizations can help by having members screen library books and file complaints.
Only one book has been removed since the new law in 2022.
Most of the prep work has been done – by Friedman. It is a matter of looking at the list of books he has challenged successfully and determining whether they are on shelves in the Duval schools.
Even that may be difficult because it appears that the school district lacks the ability to keep an accurate record of the books it owns.
If poisoning the minds of children was a deliberate act, that would be one way of covering it up.
In any case, with Harper turning his attention to the matter, the school district has unleashed the Kraken. Parents should hope he gets a lot of support.
Eye has heard comments that indicate some board members may be shy about an all-out effort to clean up school libraries because of the pushback Friedman has had. He has gained internation fame for his efforts and most of the liberal media’s attention has been sneers and scorn.
That’s hard to process. Being afraid to protect children?
What Friedman repeatedly has sought in Clay County is for the school board to seek a public consensus on what should be allowed. That is not too much to ask and should be a goal for Duval as well.
